My New Life — LiveJournal

After that really expensive evening at that fancy restaurant, I made up my mind that I wouldn’t see Leo for a while. Of course, like always when I make up my mind to do something, the opposite usually happens. And the worse thing is, I couldn’t control the circumstances.

Megan called me up in the afternoon the other day. She spoke softly and whispered, "Bob, I have something to tell you, can you meet me at the Starbucks we usually hang out at in fifteen, twenty minutes?" I was a bit curious and alarmed, Megan’s not usually the secretive type and we pretty much know what’s going on in each other’s lives. I thought she might really be having some stunning thing up her sleeve. I couldn’t say much, it didn’t sound like I had a choice in the matter anyway so I just said, "Fine." Then I took off to meet Megan. When I came about the window of the café, I froze. I saw Megan, but there was someone else with her. It was Leo!

She had that beam from that fancy restaurant again. I cussed at myself. And thought of turning back but it was too late, Megan saw me already. I had to go in, walk up to their table and shake hands with Leo. After a minute or two, my curiosity was satisfied to my dissatisfaction. Megan had towed Leo to cheer me up!

She told Leo about my whole break up with Laura and how Aaliyah left me etc. I guess karma works in a funny way, after all, I’ve been writing about people’s lives on the newsletters. What was the matter with Megan anyway? All of a sudden she brings Leo into my private life and wants me to spill all my beans.

The torment started as soon as I sat down. He started patting me and poking me around with questions in each sentence he uttered. I fumbled and mumbled but he wouldn’t let go. He repeated back in summary whatever I said. When Leo figured that I wasn’t comfortable, he started quoting all sorts of inspirational quotes to cheer me up. Apparently, he’s a professional self-help guru who is also a motivational speaker. That's why Megan wanted him to 'cheer me up.'

Leo came up with all sorts of quotes to cheer me up. And yes, he repeated them twice with emphasis on certain words. Then it struck me that there’s only one way out of this hole: I pulled myself up and grinned broadly to express I felt better. It was a mission impossible but I got immediate results. Leo proudly turned to Megan, demanding kudos for his pep talk with me. Megan had a divine smile on her face, happy that she made such a judicious choice and put faith in her new beau. I looked at Megan stupefied! She knows me from childhood and yet couldn't detect the exasperation in my smile. Love is truly blind and blinding!

We had a really pleasant trip out to the Cape. To our surprise Irina was able to join us on the beach after all! But when I saw her, I thought, who was that guy in a black sweat shirt beside her? He was about 6 and half feet tall, with strong, sturdy shoulders. His eyes had a penetrating glance, as if he can read the thoughts that you'd rather hide from him. They came up to me and Irina bubbled with enthusiasm and introduced him: "This is Richard! I told you about him?"

So he was the would-be political honcho who pulled Irina out of her wild fashion phase! It must be, because he was impeccably dressed. He held out his hand and got hold of my palm in a firm, assertive grip. "Hi!," he said, in a thick baritone, "heard a lot about you from Irina. How is your work going?" I suddenly felt a wave of relief. I met Leo a few days back and there he was asking all sorts of personal questions and poking in territories where his designation is that of a trespasser. Richard probably knows that I'm single and about my past with Irina. Yet he made no reference to it throughout the time he was with me. We talked about neutral topics, about my work and his and by the end of it all, he impressed me with his conversational skills. If he ever runs for office, he's getting my vote!

This is what the base of a friendship should be: respect for each other's personal space. That is something that connects me to my friends and to new people who I befriend. I don't like people who interfere and ask questions that probe in to the personal sphere. I think that is why I connected with Richard but not with Leo. I am sure you guys would be agreeing with me as well on this point. Let me know what you think should be the ground rules of friendship between two individuals.

I have to go now folks, but here's a quote from one of my favorite authors, Mark Twain about friendship. "Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great." That's the essence of friendship for me. What about you? What are your friendship essentials?