Married Friends.

I love hanging out with my married friends.

They invite me to their houses,

and I sit in their living rooms and talk with them.

I love that I can talk to the wife

just like we talked before she was a wife,

when she was just my friend.

We can talk about boys

and anything else

with her husband in the room.

And it feels just the same as

before he was in the picture--

except better,

because he usually has funny things to add.

I love that my friends are still my friends,

except better,

because of the way their eyes light up

when they talk about their husbands.

I love the comfort of being a third wheel.

There is something normal

about being with a married couple.

It's like being with a family.

I sit in the living room

with my friend

and her husband

and feel completely accepted.

I never feel quite that way

anywhere else,

except at my parents' house.