Sister, Keep Serving Them
Artwork by Loré Pemberton I was still in college when I lost my first friend. No, she didn’t die, but she may as well have. She got married. As a young woman, all but one or two of my friends are married, but nothing compares to that first loss. I was attending college three hours away from where she lived. She was the kind of friend I would set aside all morning to talk on the phone. It was the sweetest kind of friendship. Then she began dating her now husband. In the beginning, not much changed. She called to tell me about the guy and how her brother had set them up. We rejoiced together, giggling and dreaming about what the future would hold. She pretended to be level-headed, but we both knew. Then, slowly, I began to lose her. It started with long lapses where I wouldn’t hear anything from her. My calls and texts went unanswered for weeks, only to get a short message about how she would get back to me soon. Usually, she forgot. I tried to be under...