Ali messaged me out of the blue. It was one of those messages you get when your Facebook status suddenly becomes "Single".
She asked me if I was still planning to go to Australia to be with my boyfriend. I honestly wasn't sure. We'd been having problems, and Seattle seemed to be full of job offers and romantic opportunities – I questioned the wisdom of walking away from it all for a man who was giving me trouble.
I asked if she wanted the whole stupid story, and she said to meet her at the bar in a half hour. It's awesome when people do that – no "I have to work tomorrow" bs, no "Let's schedge a lunch for next weekend" and then reschedule three more times. Just "see you in 30".
We laughed together like I haven't laughed in months. She told me about a man she was seeing recently, long distance, in Portland. "So he's not handsome," I said, "He's not nice, he's not good in bed… what are you doing?" She exploded in laughter. "I have no idea!"