"I like you best"

 One time I was laying on the floor near the fireplace in a stranger’s house.  My friends were all at a table noisily playing a game.  They called to me and said, “Come, play this game with us, we’re having fun!”  I said, “No thank you.” I was reading a book I had found on the shelf.  My friend came to me and laid down beside me.  I read my book to him, and he read his to me. We laughed and talked, and I said, “Don’t you want to play the game with everyone else?” He said, “No, I want to be here with you.”

 

One time I was sitting on the sofa in a living room that wasn’t mine. My friends were all talking and laughing together after dinner, before a summer night. They said, “What should we do tonight? Do you want to watch a movie together?” I said, “No thank you, I’m going to walk to the library.” My friend said, “I’ll go with you.” We walked the short distance to the library, chatting about things that are light, and full of summer. At the library, we didn’t speak at all but met again at the door when the library closed. I said, “Didn’t you want to watch the movie with everyone else?” He said, “No, I wanted to be here with you.”

 

One time I was sitting on a bench; my friends were all around me.  My friend walked in and the person on my right stood up and moved to a nearby chair.  I said, “What’s going on?”  He said, “He’s coming. He always asks someone to move when he comes. I’m just making room for him.”  Then he came.  He sat next to me, and we continued on as before.  I asked him “Why do you always sit next to me?” He said,  “I like to be here with you.”

 

One time I was sitting in a circle of chairs, waiting for strangers to join me. I was among the first to sit down, so I watched as the circle became complete with people I has only just met. As the people continued to come into the room, the chair beside me was left empty.  A few people stood outside the circle, as there were not enough chairs.   I said, “Someone can sit here.” Someone said, “Oh, we were saving that for your husband.”  “My husband?” I said, “No, I don’t have a husband.  Who did you think my husband was?”  “The tall guy.”  She said, “with the dark hair, he stood next to you when we met.”    “Ah- yes, he always stands beside me; he’s not my husband.  He’s not coming tonight, but you are right, he usually likes to be here next to me.”

 

One time I was alone in a room in a house where I didn’t live. My friend came to me and said, “You should be careful, he’s just messing with you.  He flirts with everyone.  He will break your heart.” I said, “No, it’s okay, it’s a joke, it’s a game, it’s not real.  We’re friends.”  Every morning when I saw him I said, “You’re my friend,” and he stood beside me, and we held hands, and we closed our eyes, and we prayed- ‘LORD, don’t let us fall off the roof, or step on a nail, or break the pipes, or lose our measuring tapes again. Amen.’”

 

One time I asked him, “Is this how you treat all your friends?”  He said, “No, I like you best.”