We started off rather well, I think. And it was going fine until this one night when you insulted a very good friend of ours — while he was sitting right there at the table! For a moment it looked like the whole evening was going to be a complete disaster, and I thought to myself, "this is why we can't have nice friends." I don't know. Some of your friends kept on telling you to be tough, to be punchy and aggressive. I don't know why you listened to them, really. Sometimes I wonder if they were really looking out for you. What they didn't tell you is that I liked you the way you were. All your real friends liked you for you, and you knew that. You didn't have to pretend. But you did. And, I dunno, when I saw you in those dark days, it felt as though I didn't even know you anymore. There were still some good times after that night, but let's be frank. There were fights. There was yelling. We both knew where this relationship was headed, and neither of us could stop it. Then, on a crisp spring evening, we decided to part ways. You recognized the things that had come between us, and with a mutual sense of goodwill, we both let go. Watching you walk away that night with such grace and eloquence, it all came back to me. I remembered that woman — no, that human being — that I'd fallen in love with, that I'd been in love with all along. And after watching you pretend for so long, I thought to myself: "She's been in there the whole time." I wish it were not too late for us. But it is.
- Joey