Temporary Friends
Once, in the thick of our friendship, I despaired aloud over never being able to adequately thank her. That’s when she told me about Janet, who came from nowhere to pull Nancy through the three worst weeks of her life. “The way it works is this:” Nancy told me, “You are how I’m repaying Janet.”
So it is that temporary friendships outlast us, repeating themselves serially, rhythmically, as each of us steps up when we are needed. We temporary friends are shamelessly intimate. Our connection is white hot, too hot to last. But it is also too essential not to pass on. I know how I will thank Nancy.