friend.

It was late. A friend asked where I was, I replied “In a coffee shop with a friend.” Friend asked again, “Is your friend a guy? What’s his name?” I replied, “My friend is a friend. The friend doesn’t have a name.” Friend asked for a follow-up, “Is your friend your significant other?” I replied, “Significant other? The friend is a friend.”

The friend is a friend. The friend doesn’t have a name. The friend is not the significant other, but equally significant. The friend can be anybody. How many times do I go to a coffee shop in a week? Exactly. Who would know except me.

The problem with all of you is that when I drop a name, you start teasing, the friend feels awkward, and digresses from me because the friend isn’t comfortable with the setup anymore. When things turned hazy, and y’all know it’s your fault, everybody eventually steps back and leaves the problem for me to solve. Right? Right. Another friend should know. Another friend was your victim, though you’ll never know friend blamed and hated all of you for a while.

So when I say I was with a friend, even though how late it was, you don’t ask if my friend is guy or a girl. It’s a not issue who I went out with. The friend doesn’t have a name. The friend is equally significant like all friends. And the friend is a friend. Besides, can you remember what I called you? I called you “friend”.