Forever Friends

Helena Therese Petlick.

I wanted to know her the second she opened her mouth proclaiming her celebrity crush was John Krasinski. Caught in her allure (she has this effect on practically everyone she meets), I was spellbound and determined to make myself her very best friend.

Lucky for me she was also auditioning for marching band (#nerdalert) and just so happened to live kiddy corner to my dorm room (this was absolutely the Holy Spirit at work). After actively seeking her out, bonding over being introverts (cough-being afraid of alcohol-cough), and unknowingly making a fool of myself more than once (I swear I know who Jane Austen is), she caved and agreed to be a pal.

And so, we became NellMel.

We had totally different social groups. We studied opposite things (especially that first semester). We ate almost every meal together. We hugged it out through our first breakups (which I’m now realizing happened very close together). We even followed through on our promise and took a summer road trip to Mackinac Island (that B&B lives on in my memory as perfection). And after less than a year of knowing each other, we truly became best friends.

As our college years went on, things only blossomed. Bunk beds became our norm, our closets quickly melded into one, and it was determined we were a modern replica of the Friends couple Monica and Chandler.

I was her plus-one to every social gathering and vice versa, in our spare time you rarely found us apart, and when we studied abroad, our reunion in front of the Trevi Fountain was something straight outta movie (someone definitely has a picture of us throwing elbows and cutting through their family photo). Even if it wasn’t ever said out loud, people definitely thought we were a true couple (tragically, we are both heterosexual).

We became solid, helping each other through tough family stuff and leaning into our confusion together (when we discovered wine wasn’t evil, that helped a lot). We could sit, hugging for hours, crying for the other’s hurts and fears like we were personally feeling the pain.

Over four years of intense schooling, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and general exposure to the world, we both developed immensely as young women. We were graduating into different specialties, our personal interests and dreams were on two separate tracks, even our beliefs were colored in different ink. Still, through it all she was my biggest supporter, the person I went to with my daily news (often tmi), and the first one who from the moment the bell tower cast a shadow on my heart helped me discover my own place in the world.

------------

It was like we did it every year. Nellie casually knocked on the door of my parents’ brick house on Broadway Street and I welcomed her with a bear hug dragging her out of the cold. Walking into the kitchen my family was unfazed, embracing her with warm greetings and long-time-no-see’s. Of course she’d be there to ring in 2019!

The night was a bit of a blur with many shared laughs, games played, and drinks poured. It was nothing special, bare-boned some would even say, but even as we all endured the longest game of Five Crowns in all of history, smiles rarely left our faces.

When midnight creeped closer, my mom hurried around making sure candles were lit, the lights turned off, and everyone had a full glass of champagne. Without any real accuracy, someone started loudly counting down from 10 (we were definitely a few minutes off). And when we hit the HAPPY NEW YEAR!, everyone shouted, hugged and clinked glasses, excited for the possibilities ahead.

Jon began whistling Auld Lang Syne and without hesitation we all jumped in. Swinging our raised glasses and laughing at the ridiculous spectacle we likely appeared, my heart burst with goofy joy in our missed lyrics and slightly flat chords (no one will be buying our cover).

Standing together in our dimly lit dining room, I looked across the table and saw my sweet Nell having just as much fun as the rest of the motley crew I knew so well. Very few people would accept this rinky-dink Hallmark movie family moment just as it was, but she didn’t think twice.

-----------------

Friends like these are shooting stars. Rare, yes; you must hold onto them tightly. But it just wouldn’t be fair to not let them shine brightly.

When I heard the official news that my partner in crime, my best friend, my travel buddy, my favorite roomie, my Nellie was moving back to Ukraine as a real, working adult (why must the longings of her heart wander an entire ocean away), the only thing left to do was say a prayer, give her a hug, and send her on her way with a proud (and bit teary) grin.

Nell and I have a little unspoken agreement, you see: no matter where we are in this life, we’ll always deeply love each other and must warmly welcome and support the growth (pains and all) that lead us to who we’re meant to become. Cause that’s what forever friends do.

Here’s to this exciting new chapter, my love. I’m with ya every step of the way.

------------------

When I write all this out, it really does sound like we’re an old married couple. Whelp, some things never change. Xoxo.