Counting Down.

In January,

my best friend Ashley

told me

that she and her husband

are moving to California

when the semester ends.

And since then,

I have been washed with dread

every time I think about it.

The number of months of our lives

that Ashley and I have not lived

in the same place

is probably six.

Tops.

We don't see each other that often anymore--

maybe once every month or so,

maybe a little less.

But there's a security

that comes from knowing

she's only a few blocks away.

She'll be there when I need her.

And it's not necessarily that I need her,

but that I need the security of knowing 

that she's as close to me physically

as she is to my heart.

The likelihood of us

ever living in the same town again

is about to plummet to zero.

I know that she will be my best friend

no matter what,

no matter when.

But I still feel like

I'm wasting precious time

by not spending every minute 

of the next two months

with her

and Marshall

and Huey

and Lancelot.