Things are never quite as scary when you have a best friend.
~Bill Watterson
Best friends
Isabel says boys make the best friends and there was only one girl she was ever really close to.
And Lynette died of cancer.
Of all her male friends Ivo is absolutely her best friend. He is the perfect gentleman she wishes her husband would be. Could be. He gives her the coat off his back when she's cold and shares his last cigarette when it's late. He holds the door for her even when he's rushed and listens attentively when she speaks. He's the first one she tells when something wonderful happens.
Or something terrible.
He's never two-faced but he won't tell her the truth if he knows it will hurt too much. He knows her inside and out. He's the first one to knock her down when she's out of line and the first to pick her up when she falls, the first to say "Bollocks!" and the first to beg her forgiveness for going too far.
It had always been that way, she said, since they were small children. He hit the playground bully who threw her doll into the mud and introduced her to all his friends. He included her in every game, even football and rugby. He taught her how to swim and fish and to stand up for herself. They built a fort in the woods that no one else knew about and spend hours there, just talking and thinking out loud. He tutored her in math and science and even wrote one of her papers.
He taught her to dance and even – she really hesitated before confessing this one – to kiss. He co-signed on her first car loan and helped her remodel her first house. They spent the first month of her marriage painting the Vancouver house inside and out while Kit watched football in the small bare living room.
He got the scoop on every guy she dated and told her which ones were gay and which ones were hopeless. He was the first one to tell her she was with the wrong guy - even at her wedding – and the first to threaten to break the bastard's balls. He made life in high school bearable and came to her rescue in college. He kept all of her secrets, hid her birth control from Mother, took her side in every family argument. He lied for her, gave her money when she was destitute and gave her a home when she had nowhere to go. He carried her when she was injured and held her when her heart was broken.
He helped her to bury her hamsters and dogs and three-day old daughter.
He never tried to steal her boyfriends.
She looked away when she said that. It was still an uncomfortable topic for both of us.
I didn't know what to say. I'd never had a best friend, brother or otherwise. I'd never had anyone stick up for me. I'd never had anyone to tell my secrets to. I had a different face for every person and so many that I could barely keep up. I'd never trusted anyone. I couldn't imagine how that felt.
She took my hand and squeezed it tight. "You have me," she said quietly. "And Ivo, too."
I swallowed hard and didn't answer.