Friend

She was thinking about the next place the two of them could go on Date Night, as we talked about a luxury movie theatre in the area. Neither of us had been, but we had heard they serve meals there and cocktails and the seats are big, cushy recliners. I remarked how great it was, that after being married all those years, they still went on dates. It was New Year's Eve, and she told me that she and her husband met on New Year's Eve in 1966. She was 16 and went with a bunch of girlfriends to a dance at his college. He was 18. Forty-six years later, seven children and thirteen grandchildren later, here they are. Still loving each other. Still liking each other. She said, "He's my best friend."

Is there any greater compliment? It is easy to stay married; just don't get divorced. And I think that for some, no matter how unhappy they may be in a marriage, they will both admit they still love each other. But to be best friends, well now. That has to be the most wonderful thing of all.

Isn't it odd how we dismiss and minimize a member of the opposite sex by saying "We're just friends." Just. As if a friend is less than a partner or a lover. Sometimes we say we want to be more than friends, meaning we want romance and sex and a possible lifetime commitment. Don't get me wrong. These are all great things. But we tend to minimize the friendship aspect, when it is the real strength and core of any long term relationship. We have probably all known people who took a friendship to the "next level," only to later break up and never be friends again. Sad.

So she might be going to that luxury cinema, even though it's a little pricey. She might just decide to splurge. With her husband. With her kids' father. With her grandchildren's Papa. With her best friend. Who just all happen to be the same man. What a love story.

"Just a Friend" written by Biz Markie and Freddy Scott

Susan