This is a story about how good things can happen when you take candy from strangers.
My friendship with Bridget is a third grader - 9 years old. We couldn’t be prouder. How it’s grown. Our friendship was born in August of 2000 in Logan Airport on the way to Edinburgh Scotland. Here’s the story.
My brother is 4 years older than me. He’s also a theater kid, or was, like me. The summer before my 8th grade year, my brother’s high school drama troupe got invited to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a huge honor. They were going to perform A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a great comedy set in ancient Greece. My parents, being close friends of the director, were asked to go along as chaperones. Now, as my entire family was going on this trip, I of course was dragged along. Poor me.
I was incredibly excited for the trip (I am part Scottish after all), but there was one slight catch. I knew no one. Sure, I knew those few guys who came over my house to hang out with my brother, but I wasn’t exactly friends with them. How can you be when you’re 13 and they’re 17? But I went along anyway. If nothing else, I would just hang out with my parents and putz around a gorgeous city. So I was totally prepared for wonderful, if lonely, trip.
At Logan Airport, I was standing in line to check my luggage. I probably had the least amount of luggage of anyone else on the trip, because they had to bring their entire set over. My parents had gone off to talk to the director and the choreographer, leaving me alone in line. There is a girl in front of me. She’s slightly older than me, but definitely not as old as my brother. I’d seen her talking to some of my brother’s friends, so I knew she was on the trip. She turned around, reached into her backpack, and offered me a lifesaver wintergreen mint.
“Would you like a mint?” she asked me.
“Sure. Thanks.” I said, not knowing if the conversation would continue.
“My name’s Bridget. What’s yours?”
“I’m Abby. I’m Jonah’s little sister.”
“Nice to meet you Abby.”
We engaged in a little more small talk, before it was her turn at the counter. I saw her a little on the plane and the various buses we took to get to our hotel. She seemed really nice, but I was so overwhelmed by being the youngest in the group, and the only one that knew no one. People were nice to me, of course, but I didn’t feel like I fit in.
Over the two weeks we were there, that slowly changed. Bridget and I became closer, as did a bunch of other people I met on the trip. I had brought a deck of cards with me on the trip (I never go anywhere without them) as well as a deck of SET cards, a logic matching game that had been my favorite since I was 6 years old. I introduced a few people to the game, including Bridget. Many of them gave up after one or too rounds (I schooled them so completely), but Bridget and I kept playing.
And playing. And playing.
We played every day during the trip. I beat her regularly, but she was incredibly good. I had to keep on my toes just to remain the champion. But more importantly, through these games we became great friends. Do you know that feeling when you just meet someone, but you feel like you’ve known them forever after just a few hours, and wonder how you ever lived without them? That’s what Bridget and I had. We just clicked. That trip made us best friends. She introduced me to everyone on the trip, and was always around when I wanted to talk. We spent almost every waking moment of the trip together, either playing SET or just talking or exploring the city.
The one incident that cemented our friendship came at the end of the trip. We had spent almost two weeks in Edinburgh, but none of us had really been allowed to explore the city, as we were constantly on a tight schedule. But one day, our chaperones allowed us to go explore the city, as long as we were back in time for call in the afternoon. Bridget and I instantly set off for the city, keen to investigate what the city had to offer. Bridget loves Scotland about as much as I do, so we wanted to see the city we had heard so much about.
We wandered about, visiting Edinburgh Castle as well as the prerequisite kitschy shops that lined the Royal Mile. But the crown jewel came when we happened upon the Black Medicine Coffee Company, a small coffee shop in the heart of Old Town. We instantly went in, as we had both discovered earlier in the trip our mutual love of tea. It was a rainy day (as so many are in Scotland) and we needed something to warm us up.
Soon we realized that time had slipped away from us, and we rushed back to meet up with the group. But both of us realized that something special had happened at that coffee shop. A lasting friendship had been formed.
Throughout nine years, with it’s many ups and even more downs, we’ve been best friends. We’ve stood beside each other during love, heartbreak, triumph, disappointment, travel, loneliness, and joy. Our friendship has spanned 3 continents as we both have gone abroad for college and grad school. But no matter what, we’re still best friends. When we see each other, even after long absences, we pick up as if we’d seen each other the day before. We’re always there for each other, no matter what.
This blog is a dedication to our friendship, our stories, our hopes and dreams, but most of all, each other. I hope you enjoy reading.
-Abby
