Friday, January 21, 2011

Story of My Friend

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Gustabo and a girl named Valentina.  They met about 20 years ago, it was the summer of 1991.  Both were young and carefree.  From the moment Gustabo and Valentina met, they both knew that their relationship was going to be something special.  And it was.  Those two went on to become the best of friends.  They were inseparable at times, and very in tune to each others feelings and emotions.  Valentina and Gustabo used to sit and talk for hours and hours at times, and forget about the rest of the world around them.  They talked about anything and everything and nothing at all. Sometimes, they'd just sit together in silence and then walk away feeling like they'd just had the best conversation ever.  Gustabo knew Valentina better than she knew herself and vice versa.  They loved to laugh and argue.  Oh how they loved to argue!  She could say, "It hot." and he would say, "No it's freezing!" and it was on after that! Most people, friends included, thought they were dating.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  They were just friends.  Or as Valentina used to describe it, "We're as close as two people can be, without being romantically involved or intimate."  Gustabo would agree and add this to her description, "We're family."  So these two kids went on to live their lives.  In the 20 year span of their friendship, they were there for each other through marriage, divorce, broken hearts, fits of anger, loss, moments of happines and joy,  drunken moments, tragedies, miracles, just an enormous amount of memories.  Sadly, Gustabo totally disassociated himself from Valentina one day.  It was sudden and unexpected.  No explanation given.  Nothing but silence.  Valentina was devastated and felt lost.  In the beginning, she was extremely angry and hurt by his actions and vowed revenge. Yeah, she was a bit of a drama queen that Valentina!  But as time passed, she realized that whatever his reasons were for "kicking her to the curb", as she so colorfully puts it, she would just respect them and choose instead to celebrate the years of friendship that she did have with him.   Last week, she found out that Gustabo had remarried and he and his wife are now expecting a baby.  Valentina cried when she found out.  When I asked her why she was crying, she said, "Because I'm so happy for him! Because he's wanted a baby for so long and now he's finally going to have it.  And because he's married. And I can't share how happy I am for him or tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me. And because I miss him.  That's why I'm crying."  I let her cry and I held her.  Between sobs she blurted out, "It's a girl.  The baby. They're having a girl.  And they're naming her Bianca.  Just like he always wanted."  It's true.  Gustabo would often discuss becoming a father and how much he wanted a girl.  He even had a name picked out, so did Valentina.  It was Bianca.  Coincidentally, or ironically, they both had picked the same name.  Valentina doesn't have any children.  So it will be Gustabo who gets to use the name.  That was the wager. Whoever gets pregnant first gets to use the name.  Oh I'm certain that it wouldn't have really mattered who used the name.  But it was one of the many silly things they did.   After a long silence, Valentina dried her tears, hugged me and thanked me for being such a good friend.  "So that's it then.  It's over."  I nodded and smiled at her.  She smiled back.  "We were good friends and in my heart, we always will be. But he's still a jerk."  And then we laughed. 

The End.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good story. Is it true?

http://theadorkableditzmissteps.blogspot.com/

Yvonne said...

Ditzy - what do you think? :)

Anonymous said...

I think my question will be answered in the affirmative!

Drew Benn said...

What a beautiful story! It would make a great Novel / Film! It sounds very personal and you obviously understand the pair extremely well to be able to write about them so,

Drew

Yvonne said...

Ditz - indeed! :)

Drew Benn - Thanks for dropping by! And thanks for your kinds words. It is in fact, a very personal story to me.

Mister King said...

cool story...glad no feelings or hearts were broken here.

http://goodmusak.blogspot.com/

ISRAEL CARRASCO said...

ay ay ay

Shady Del Knight said...

Gustabo will think of Valentina when he looks at Bianca, when he holds her and when he speaks her name. In that respect there will always be a connection between Gustabo and Valentina.

The best conversations are those that take place in silence using body language.

PencilGirl said...

I agree with Shady..
And that was such a beautiful story.. :)

Cinderita said...

I too felt the story was real right from the first word. Thank yo ufor sharing. YOu made me cry. I loved it. And Shady is right. He will think of her. Everytime.

Belle said...

It is too bad Gustabo didn't man up and talk like an adult with Valentina before breaking off their friendship. Or at least write her a letter.

Yvonne said...

Mr. King - Thanks!

Israel - ...canta y no llores?

Shady - No he won't. And that's okay. -nice try though. :)

PG - thank you, glad you liked it.

Rita - I'm glad you liked it and it made you cry. That means I did my job. :) And I disagree, he will not think of her at all.

Belle - I still think that way too.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing it. It's always hard to see people you loved move on but I always only wish the best for them.

Now sometimes it's the best slow and painful death...but I digress. ;-)

Yvonne said...

Jewels - you rock! and you can read minds too apparently. -at least mine. :)

Kelli Hale said...

This was an amazing story. I know exactly how Valentina felt. The same thing happened to me several years ago, except we WERE romantically involved.

So good to know I'm not the only one out there. Thanks for sharing!

Yvonne said...

SD- Welcome! Thanks for the follow! No, you're not alone. Glad you liked the story!

Anonymous said...

What an adorable story!
Concrit: There's a sneaky, unecessary period after "Valentina" in the third line.
I like how it reads a little like a fairy tale, but with no paragraph breaks it becomes difficult to read.
We see you in the end, but I'm really interested to understand how you know these two!

Yvonne said...

Amybethinverness- "Valentina" is me. :) And thanks for the heads up on the typo.

Anonymous said...

What in God's name were his reasons???? I'm so sad for twenty years of friendship lost.

Yvonne said...

jesterqueen.com- Sadly, I never found out what his reason(s) were. Trust me, I mourned the loss of that friendship for a very long time. :(

Chapter 56

The sunlight peeping through the curtains, stir her from her sleep.  Her eyes open and she rubs them a bit before sitting up in bed.  Eyes n...