For as long as I can remember I've had a friend named Amanda. I think I was in first grade and she was in second when we met. We lived in the same town (down the street from each other, in fact) and knew each other through our parents. (She went to a different school than I did). We didn't get to see each other all that much despite living rather close to one another. But we talked on the phone a lot and saw each other when we could. We stayed friends like that until she went off to college.
The summer before she went to college I remember us sitting together on my mom's daybed and crying our eyes out because she would be leaving. That was a very sad day for me... I just didn't want her to go away. Well, the summer went on and I found out some life-changing news of my own - I'm pregnant. Of course I called my BFF (she hadn't left yet) and let her know what's going on. I was so shocked / scared that I didn't know what to do and she just let me ramble on and on until I felt better.
Seeing as how our lives were going in very different directions at this point I should've known that we'd lose touch. I hoped like hell that we wouldn't, but we did. She became busy with college and work and I was struggling with problems of my own - trying to finish high school and trying hard to figure out how I was going to raise a child.
That's not to say that I never thought of her. In fact, she was on my mind a good bit. I always thought of her on her birthday and sometimes she'd just pop in my head from time to time for no apparent reason. I always wondered what she was up to and how she'd been all this time. I missed her. I missed the days when her dad would take us to Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins and to a movie. I missed nearly drowning in her pool and having to be saved by her. I missed talking about getting our periods and boys we liked. I missed hiding in her closet because I didn't want to go home. I missed doing nothing in Munford with her. I missed the goofy way she always smiled and watching her laugh until she peed...
One day my dad told me that she'd moved back. I was stoked, but it had been so long since we'd talked that I didn't have a clue how to get in touch with her. Really, I didn't know if she'd even want to hear from me so I never even tried. I guess it didn't matter because it wasn't too long before I bumped into her at Wal-Mart one day. I couldn't just walk away from that. She was on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt her so I just stood there - kind of behind her for a while. When she finally turned around I waved and she looked so shocked. She got off the phone and we briefly caught up. It was crazy. We exchanged numbers and talked a few times.
After that, though, I couldn't get through anymore. I kind of thought maybe she didn't really want that much to do with me after that. Then, out of the blue one Friday she called. Her phone had been giving her a lot of trouble. This happened a few times over the course of a year and it kind of worried me. I was a bit confused, too. Why would she call once and not anymore? Could her phone really be that messed up? It was just so bizarre that I didn't know what to make of it.
Anyway, finally I couldn't take it anymore. I missed her and we'd never really gotten a chance to finish catching up. I HAD to talk to her and let her know how I felt. So after going all STALKER for a moment I got her address and wrote her a letter and put it in the mail. It wasn't terribly long; it just pretty much said that I missed her and was worried and that I wish I'd tried harder to stay in touch, etc. It included ALL of my contact info, too. Also I called her grandmother, who I always freakin' adored. It was nice to talk to Granny. 😊 That was a few weeks ago.
Well last night I got quite a pleasant surprise. She called me! She said that she'd been really busy moving some stuff, but that she'd gotten my letter. We talked for a while and have pseudo made plans to hang out. Also, she told me that she just found out she was pregnant. How cool is that? Seven years later (WOW... I can't believe it's been that long) I could return the favor. She seemed really freaked out and worried about being a good mom. I reassured her and told her that I'd be there for her and help out any way I could - without a doubt. Hopefully, we will keep in touch this time. I feel really optimistic about that.
The End.
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