Where Have All My Friends Gone?

We’re lying on two single hostel beds, the hum of Bangkok drifting through the rickety window, when Fiona says, “You should move to Australia and live with me.” We’re fast approaching the end of our three-week trip and, as I think about saying yes, about moving from the UK to continue our super tight friendship in the southern hemisphere, the future stretches out before us; babies, marriages, growing old. In that moment, our friendship feels totally invincible.

I’ve replayed this scene from 2009 a few times during the past year, wondering how it can be that I’ve not seen Fiona’s face for 11 years. I never did go to Australia with her, and the distance drove a wedge between us. After years of shared history –