We met in your house in St Catharines, for the first time. You lived three thousand miles from my home. We giggled behind your couch, chattering about boys, bikes, and boobs. We rode your bikes around the neighbourhood, you yelling at me as I strayed to the wrong side of the road. I forgot you ride on the right.
You snorted with laughter as I said, 'I’ll wear my rubbers tomorrow.'
'You can’t say that. Do you know what it means here?'
We traded meanings and sniggered, our twelve-year-old faces scarlet.
We gossiped into the wee hours on your sofa bed in the cool basement. I didn’t want to leave, but we had other relatives to visit.
Five years later I was back. This time I was a shy teenager, and you were a wild child. We hung out with the neighbourhood kids.
'Promise not to tell my mom I’m smoking.' As if I would.
Your boyfriend was an airhead jock who stroked your thighs in their teeny-weeny shorts and kissed you in public. I wrinkled my nose and looked away.
Your best friend was Jess, who drove us around in a battered van. I loved REO Speedwagon blaring from the radio but wasn’t sure about her status as a single mother with a boyfriend in jail. You warned me not to mention your friend at home. Of course I didn’t.
You took me to a nightclub where you downed long vodkas and danced the polka. I stared into my glass, wishing I was home with a good book.
In another five years I visited you again, bringing my boyfriend with me. You had ditched the jock to your mom’s delight and were too busy working to hang around with us. Your mom and dad entertained us at the casino, and your grandpa wove in and out of traffic at ninety miles per hour to drop us off at the CN Tower.
We kept in touch over the years, sharing news of our weddings, children and ups and downs of family life. I’m my husband’s carer and chief babysitter for my grandsons. You and your husband take good care of your mom and are kept busy training a therapy dog. Now we’re Facebook friends, emailing and sending cards on special occasions, although your postal system is shockingly slow.
As you always say, 'Love ya cousin. Best friends forever.'