Page 91 of Queenslander
“Wow. Okay.”
“Now you say something.”
Nev looked at her, then licked her lips.
“You think I’ll disappear as soon as I start dating again?”
“That’s generally how this goes.”
Damn…Objective fact stated without judgement: a masterclass in maturity. Nev continued. “I’m supportive of you. I don’t have an opinion. I’m not allowed to have an opinion.”
“What do you mean?”
Silence.
“Am I way off base here?” Ronnie asked.
Nev shook her head.
“Is it cringey when I call you my best mate?”
Nev shook her head. “I wouldn’t use those words, but I don’t mind if you do. You’re so young. I don’t want to rub off on you.”
“You think because we keep this on the DL that there’s something wrong with it, something icky?”
“We haven’t done anything, Dain’y. Not embarrassed. Not a secret.”
“I’m not embarrassed either. I don’t think we need to put a label on this.”
“Don’t overthink it, Dain’y. I love having you in my life—but this isn’t a relationship. Besides, talking about feelings kills them.”
“It is a relationship. You don’t actually believe that.”
“I guess not. I guess I’m full of shite.”
“We have a tree baby,” Ronnie said. There. She had said it.
Nev blushed and rubbed the side of her nose.
Ronnie laughed. “We’re tree parents.”
“It sounds ridiculous.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“There’s an element of magical thinking involved,” Nev said.
“Not really. This relationship has value and deserves to take up space. I factor you into my long-term plans. If we ever start to hate each other, we’ll go to counseling together.”
“Wow, okay. You’re doing some unhealthy codependent thing. Let’s not micromanage this to death. It needs to breathe. Friendships evolve. They’re organic. Friends go through seasons of intimacy and distance. That’s healthy. It doesn’t have to be prescriptive. There might be years when we don’t see each other.”
“When? The only time we don’t hang out is when you’re in Rwanda. Are you planning to move away?”
“No. That was hypothetical.”
“Why would we not see each other?”
“Relax. Your hormones are all over the place. Your body thinks you gave birth. Your estrogen is up and your testosterone is down.”
