They say ‘for every door that closes, another opens”. While not quite certain who they are or where to send a thank you card, I am grateful that ‘they’ are right. Last week was a train wreck as you may have gathered from my previous blog. A door had slammed closed. This week started down the same set of tracks when I received a call that the brother of a very close friend had passed.

Wakes and funerals have a way of putting life in perspective. I may have lost my hair but those dear to me, self included, are still waking up on the right side of the dirt. There is plenty in life to be thankful for…and little enough time to live, really live, especially if one bemoans circumstance.

The funeral parlor was packed and it wasn’t long before I was in the midst of a flurry of embraces. A hand, an unmistakably feminine touch, gently took hold of my arm from behind. I turned slowly only to see a face that I have not gazed upon in many a blue moon. An old friend, a best friend, from a life long past. We drifted apart so many years ago, more out of obligation than want…me intent on being a good husband, her desiring the best for me, as my former spouse disapproved of my friendships with other women.

We hugged as if nothing had changed since those distant days. Her eyes were still as beautiful, her voice still as sweet, her touch still as gentle as I remembered. We exchanged small talk, mostly about the path which life has taken since last we spoke. Friends, not lovers, our relationship was always honest. She liked my new look, except for the eyebrows, and playfully offered to shape them with her tweezers. I passed, asking if needed to sleep with one eye open this time. She knew what was meant, then blurted out the word ‘mustache’ through her laughter.

She disliked the ‘fu man chu’ I once cultivated on my face and had made her opinion clear. I waved her off and let it grow. Little did I now how decided she was. With a pair of scissors and a razor in hand, she made short work of the overgrown caterpillar once I fell asleep on the couch after a lost night out on the town. I wasn’t upset despite the razor burn, just thankful to still have most of my lip intact. She was right, I looked better without it.

Goodbyes were said as the wake came to a close. Our eyes met again, this time in the hall as the crowd headed for the door. The family had invited everyone to their home for food and drink. She had ridden with a mutual friend who wished to accept the invitation. I could tell straight away that she preferred not to go. Whether impulse or instinct I’m not certain; either way I offered her a lift home. She accepted without hesitation. We talked more and laughed even harder once in private, stopping briefly for comedic pause as we pulled into her driveway, only then realizing that her car was elsewhere. Some things never change.

The soft scent of her perfume lingers in the car today as it has done so many times before. Yesterday was not a dream for another door has opened. The angels sent a reminder that true friendship transcends all time despite what life throws our way. As my daughters says…BFF, best friends are forever. Yet another reason to be thankful…