“Coworker charades go!” I yell at Alvin as I waddle down the aisles pointing out cereal boxes not perfectly stacked or aligned.
I stop at a particularly offending box of Lucky Charms, point it out and then turn back to see his reaction.
“Ooh, this is a tough one,” he jokes. It’s obvious who I am imitating. We make the same joke almost every night we work together. “Kierra?” he pretends to guess.
“Yes!” I reply while we laugh uncontrollably as if we’d never find anything as equally as funny to laugh at again.
It is unknown when, where, or why we meet great people, or how long those people will stay in your life. I didn’t expect to meet my best friend working part time at a grocery store. I could have never predicted that the tall, black guy who helped me clean the restrooms on my first day at the store would end up knowing every secret of mine, but he does.
We went to each other’s prom, watched midnight premiers of our favorite superhero movies, took late night trips to the downtown Little Rock Bridge and set his neighborhood street on fire on the fourth of July. We are the same age, but go to different schools, and I’ve only known him for a little over a year.
“Why don’t you two just date already?” our co-worker Melinda would persistently ask. “You’ve been close friends for so long you guys would be perfect together.”
That’s just it. We’re too close. I see him almost as a brother figure. He listens to my complaints about how tired and stressed I am, he gives me dating advice and would protect me if needed. It sounds ideal in a relationship but the feelings of attachment are just not the same. Relationships in high school often aren’t permanent and tend to bring back painful memories if ended badly. I’d hate to be forced to forget someone so close to me again just because we weren’t compatible in a relationship.
“Do you remember how we first met?” I asked him while we sat in the Food Giant parking lot after a night shift.
“Yes, it was a mystery dumper night (our made-up code for a disaster in the bathroom) and you asked me to help you with the women’s stall because you were afraid to deal with it.”
I laughed. He saved me the embarrassment of asking the boss for help and gave a creative beginning to our friendship.
This week he started a new job in the mall, selling sunglasses. I’ll miss embarrassing each other in front of customers or loudly saying “Remember when you went 110 down the Interstate, Alvin?” in front of the cops who shop regularly for energy drinks and Doritos.
Keep in touch, I promise to watch at least one of your soccer games and you know I’ll be at your graduation.
Food Giant won’t be the same with out you.
