A call and a cup of coffee

We had been back from our wonderful cabin getaway for a couple days now, and I had been busy with work. It was a Thursday afternoon and I was on my way out of the office for the day. As I was heading out the door I noticed I had several missed calls and a new voicemail. They were all from J. I had not talked to him at all since that awkward meeting at my parents house, and really had no idea why he would be calling me.

I pressed the button to get to my voicemail and punched in my password. "You have one new message. 'A. Hey, it's me J. Well I guess you figured that part out already (uncomfortable laughter). I need to talk to you. Its important. There are some things you need to know. I know your first instinct will be to delete this message and ignore me. Trust me, I know I deserve it. This isn't about me. There are just some things you need to know. Please call me back."


I stared at my phone for a long while contemplating what I should do. He sounded genuine, and we all know me and giving second, third, fourth, or eight chances to people. I called him back and we agreed to meet for coffee.


I made my way over to the coffee shop near my apartment. When I walked in he was already there sitting on one of the couches in the corner. I ordered my drink and make my way over to him. The minute I sat down he started to talk.


"A. I don't even know how to tell you this. Part of me doesn't want to tell you because I don't want to see you hurt. But the smarter part of me knows its the right thing to do."

"Hi to you too J. And what are you talking about? You really are making no sense?"

"A. I know that I have not been the best of friends lately. And I know you were mad that I knew about Aaron. But the truth is I am happy for you. We never worked as anything more then friends and I should have realized that. I love you like a sister and still think of you as the best friend I could have. Which is why I have to tell you this."

"Seriously J. You are drawing this out, just tell me what it is you have to say. But before you do, I want you to know that I am happy to hear you say all this. I've never wanted to loose your friendship. I miss you so much." I stood up and went to sit next to him to give him a hug. Once I was done with my hug I finally realized just what a serious look he had on his face.

He took a long drink from his cup, looked up at me and reached his hands out to me. I let him take my hands in his. I was starting to feel a little afraid as to what he would be saying.

"A.," he said with my hands still in his hands. "When Meg came back from London she came over to my place the day after she had been back. She said she needed to talk. At first I really did think she was trying to be a friend by telling me about Aaron. I wasn't angry at all...because...well, we had ended on a good note and I had realized that you were better for me as a friend then anything else. She did not accept that I was okay with it. She went on and on and on, until I was starting to get mad. She was making me feel like I was an idiot and you were stepping all over me."

I sat there and took it all in. I didn't interrupt. He took another long drink, ran his hand through his hair and continued.

"By the time she left I was mad. That is why I went to your place that day when you first came back home. She kept calling me and talking to me about everything. I thought she was being a friend. It's because of all those phone conversations with her that I was still so angry at you when you saw me Christmas Eve. It was not until I saw you with him, and I realized that I wasn't angry at you. I was happy for you."

"New Year's eve, pretty early in the day, Meg came over. She was so angry when I told her I was going to talk to you and apologize. After she finally calmed down she tried to kiss me. I pushed her away and she apologized profusely. But she tried it again. When I still refused to kiss her, she started acting like her normal self again. She acted like nothing had happened and just started a conversation. It eventually led to her asking me if I had kept in contact with Pat. When I told her I was going to be seeing him that night she invited herself along. It wasn't until I saw her throw herself at him that night did I realize what she was doing. "

I sat there stunned that Meg could be so calculating. I was more confused as to why she would want to do this to me. I had been nothing but a friend to her. I have dropped things and gone to her more times then I can count. I was about to open my mouth to respond to what J. had just told me, when I heard her voice.