"A friend will always stay with you / And talk a problem though
But a lover is the only one / Who will spend the night with you.
There are lovers / There are friends
And it's hard to tell where one begins / And the other ends
But there are those / The ones like you
Who has somehow found the way to be the two"
"Lovers and Friends" by Audy Kimura
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Her name was Kira and somehow she became my lover while remaining my best friend. This is how a weekend hiking and camping trip, a two-person tent, and a secluded spot led to this paradox of a male-female relationship.
My name is Luke and I was the proverbial bad boy who often got into trouble to conceal my awkwardness, insecurity, and loneliness. My frazzled mother who was never there for me declared one day that she had enough of my rebellious youth and shuffled me off to my father and her ex-husband. Ranting over the phone at him, she angrily reminded him their shared custody of me meant that it was now his turn to feel the pain.
I can still recall my 'loving' father's words of welcome, "Son, this is not a situation that either you or I wanted. However, your mom has simply given up on you and dumped you in my lap. I've restarted my life in this small quaint town and have the only sporting goods store within miles. I am telling you upfront that if you give me half of the crap you gave your mom, you'll find your sorry ass out on the street in no time flat.
"Now I know," he continued, "that you resent being uprooted and transferred into a rural school in the middle of the fall semester. From what I understand, you can't afford to dick around because you've already flunked a grade. However, if you make a half-assed effort to graduate and stay out of trouble, you can enjoy a generous allowance and the perks that living with me has to offer. Look, we both don't like our current situation that has been forced on us, but how about we make the best of it? What do you say?"
So, there I was on my first day of school. After signing the required transfer and admission form, my father gave me a look in the eye that said, "Remember our agreement." He then casually bumped me on the shoulder, saying that he was working late and that I was to catch the school bus home.
It went without saying that once again I felt abandoned, alone, and bitter. That is until Mrs. Perkins, the school's registrar, called over Kira. "Luke, this is Kira. She is a junior like you and as part of her school service project, has volunteered to show new students our school campus and introduce you to your classmates. Kira, this is Luke - Luke meet Kira."
I turned and was immediately taken aback by inviting chocolate eyes and a warm toothy grin on a pretty face. "Hi, Luke, I'm Kira and for some strange reason, I feel like I know you already and that we will be the best of friends...if not more."
Kira was the epitome of the girl next door in that she was kind, unassuming, and openly friendly. She was attractive in a natural way with little makeup or pretense. From what I could see, Kira had a modest five-feet-six body that wouldn't make you turn your head but was still nice enough so that you wouldn't have any complaints about her feminine figure.
"I like your name...it is different," somehow tumbled out of my mouth as I sought to recover my initial surprise.
Kira smiled in amusement at the effect that she had on me and said, "Why, thank you. My dad is Irish and in the Celtic tongue, Kira means "dark-featured" which suits my brown hair and dark eyes. And in the language of my mother's Japanese heritage... yeah, bet you never guessed that I was a quarter Japanese,...Kira means "shiny or bright" which...and ta-da...you can see in my sparkling nature and totally engaging personality. Ha, gotcha again."
It went without saying that Kira and I somehow clicked like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I was still the same messed-up lone wolf with the same self-destructive tendencies, but somehow Kira would show that she had a knack of defusing my ticking timebombs and over time became my lifeline to my new world.
It also helped that Mrs. Perkins had arranged it so that we shared the same class schedule. Somehow before, during, and after school, we managed to gravitate to each other whether to chitchat about what was happening, eat lunch, or study in the library after school. We simply hung out and enjoyed each other's company.
Kira was always there to listen attentively as I talked about my dysfunctional life. After asking gentle questions to tease out my problems, fears, and issues, she would then soothe them with understanding and acceptance. Guiding me to another perspective and new hope, Kira was the first person to care for me and I appreciated her for that.
In return, I gave Kira insight into the minds and moods of others and especially guys. Because of her good nature outlook, she never saw the underlying motives and schemes of others, especially those who sought to take advantage of her. Whenever someone upset her and she couldn't figure out why Kira would turn to me for my opinion. At times, she didn't like what I had to say, but she nevertheless appreciated my edgy and subtly sarcastic advice and that I was looking out for her.
When Kira introduced me to her parents, they were a bit surprised since I was the first guy she brought over. Yet, they were warm and accepting of me. Her father, Ben, ran the local service station and besides selling fuel, was the town's go-to mechanic when it came to automotive problems. Her mother, Molly, took care of the station's books, bills, and inventory while managing the house. Both were well-liked in their small community and given her loving family, I could see how Kira blossomed into a warm and trusting person.
Our parents and even our especially our classmates would ask, slyly or overtly, if we were boyfriend-girlfriend. To such inquiries, our singular and mutual response to such inquiries (although we never understood why at the time) was always "No." Despite our growing closeness. Kira and I remained purely friends or "besties" (best friends) as we often referred to each other as inconceivable as our relationship may have seemed.
Kira was rather popular and was often asked out by a lot of guys. When she asked what I thought about a particular suitor, I would tell her what I thought was his pros and cons based on what I knew him. However, if a guy seemed a bit too horny or about to take advantage of Kira, I made it a point to intervene.
"Luke, did you 'threaten' Jimmy Marshall? He was supposed to pick me up for a soda, and then all of a sudden, he called and said that he changed his mind. When I asked why he said that you had 'spoken' to him and that he wouldn't be seeing me anymore. Well, did you?"
