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.