The Little Things

Four months ago, I was helping a friend's girlfriend paint her apartment. It was just the three of us and we were at it pretty late. I suggested I'd make a run to get some coffee and the girlfriend asked if I'd walk about a kilometer further to get the kind of coffee she likes. When I realized she wasn't joking, I looked at my buddy and said that I'd be back soon - with the coffee that was from around the corner. When I returned, it was obvious he had straightened out his GF about the simple fact that when someone is donating his time painting your apartment, don't boss him around.

Sure enough, their relationship has become a disaster - and it's only in it's sixth or seventh month. That "little" coffee incident told the whole story. I've stopped hanging out with this guy, or at least reduced it to rare events every month or so. Essentially, friendship over. Hand in the friendship documents, cuz we're done here.

Got a phone call yesterday from this dude, asking me over for dinner to his house on Tuesday night to celebrate a Danish holiday tradition where they cook up duck and drink like it's their J-O-B. On the phone he asks me if I can bring a bottle of wine, when I hear in the background, from his girlfriend. "a nice bottle". He doesn't know I can hear it, so doesn't relay the message. At which point she repeats herself more assertively, "a nice bottle". I'm not saying shit, dying to know how the guy is going to respond to this. I'm the master of nice bottles, so the guy has to figure out how to play this, essentially choose between insulting me or his GF. His response? He tells her pointedly, "okay, relax... he (meaning me) doesn't need to be told that."

Can I describe why that exchange makes me so content? No. But, it was a little thing that made me think, for the first time in a while, this guy might not be so bad after all.