A friendship for a lifetime
By Janice Elizabeth Berte
It was just like any other day coming home from work. I dropped my many bags on the counter, took off my coat and washed my hands. I then went to retrieve my voicemail messages.
As I listened to the calls, the one specific voice I heard made me feel as if the phone was going to drop from my hands.
No, it wasn’t Publishers Clearing House saying they were coming over to deliver that big check. It was better than that. It was my long lost friend Margie who slipped out of my life many years ago. We had parted ways simply because our lives were drastically different at that point. I started a new business that resulted in me having to work a lot of hours. Margie, on the other hand was raising two children by herself.
I personally thought we would never get together again because of these changes in our lives. With me not having any children and grueling commutes would only leave me with minimal time. I did however try to track Margie down after our last visit, but never found her phone number.
I remember our last get-together was filled with some laughs, but mostly jarring issues concerning her children. I could tell that her life had changed dramatically and knew that we would either make it through this difficult time or we would break apart. We did indeed break apart. It happens every day in life when close friends part ways, but this time I felt different.
Margie’s distinctive voice brought instant fond memories of going to Hampton Beach and the old Natick Mall. When she said, “Hi, Jan, do you remember me?” I almost laughed thinking how could I forget you.
We were one year apart in age and hung around on a weekly, if not daily basis back then. I instantly smiled as she went on about having me call her and hopefully getting together for tea. For some strange reason, I knew that this was going to be a lasting friendship. Unless she changed – and friends sometimes do – I knew from this point on that we were going to be OK.
The fun times were endless in high school. We never had those foolish juvenile drama fights, and kept our friendship easy and light. We accepted each other and respected our differences as well.
As I hung up the phone, I eagerly shared the message with my husband. He was happy to hear that Margie called and I went on about the crazy and wild time we had as kids.
There was a part of me that I hoped she didn’t change too much so we could go back in time, but I knew that life can alter people, including myself, and I had to deal with that possibility.
As I pressed my finger on the lighted up numbers on the phone and heard the ring, Margie picked up right away and I said, “Hi, Margie, this is Jan Berte.” We spoke honestly and candidly with each other. The phone call lasted three hours with bouts of laughter in between, and if we didn’t have to go to work the next day, we probably would have talked for another three more hours. The precise details we covered about our lives over those missing years became apparent to me that life really did separate us.
Margie said she never married again and shocked me with the devastating news that her son had passed away several years ago. I was floored to hear this news and didn’t know how to react, but to say that I was so sorry for her loss. We then shared stories about our siblings, parents and work life.
I have met my good high school friend Margie for three times now and know that this friendship will last a lifetime.
Jan Berte lives in Framingham. She is the author of the educational book for adolescents, “Why am I so fat, Mommy?”