ON LOSING OLD FRIENDS

I have an unspoken respect for Patrick. Naturally, I despise the man but that is not entirely his fault. Sue’s taste in men has never been one of her finer attributes. In all fairness, the rift between Sue and I would have happened naturally. Patrick doesn’t like me. Actually that is not entirely true. The more factually correct statement would be that he doesn’t like me around his girlfriend. I know very little about Patrick.

He ticked Sue’s boxes - good-looking, “good-family” - for me all that mattered was that he wasn’t a project.He was intelligent and seemed to be doing well for himself. After Sue’s adventures with the DJs, aspiring rappers and the Karen Mama’s boys cum alcoholic-druggies waiting for their big break I was glad she had finally found a serious contender. Something felt off, I chalked it up to paranoia and made a mistake. I gave him the Gacheri stamp of approval.

Six months in we found out about his baby mama. Then it occurred to me that while his business seemed to be doing well, I had no idea what business it was.

Neither did Sue apparently. Naturally, I suggested to Sue that she dig for this information. Not in the we-must-know way, but rather more of a it-would-be-nice-to-know. What business was he actually in? Exactly how old was the baby? How far back had the break up been?

Round about that time Patrick began to admire me greatly and started to wax lyrical. From my intelligence to my dress sense, I was just two undiscovered inches shy of perfection. In our hangouts he made it clear he approved of our friendship.

I would be a good influence on her. In a world filled with girls whose key calling card was their looks, my fun, flirty and intelligent self was just so refreshing. Last time he said that any man would be proud to call me his girlfriend. That is when it began.