Best Friends

A flash story about a request from her best friend.

Amy sat there with her mouth hanging open as she stared at her childhood friend. She finally blinked a few times and tried to speak.

"I, I,... you're kidding me, right?"

Tears began to slide down Jane's face as she took Amy's hands into hers. "Please Amy, I'm sorry I said anything. Please forgive me, please don't hate me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Amy shook her head trying to recover from her shock. Her best friend, the person with whom she had shared every detail of her life, had just asked her to grant her a weekend with her husband!

The warring emotions running through Amy left her head spinning. She had been suffering with the knowledge that she would soon lose her best friend to the disease that was slowly devouring her. Jane had tearfully confided to Amy the doctor's devastating findings just last week. Amy had pledged to do everything she could to make her friend's last few months of life the best they could be.

"Oh god, Amy, please, I should never have said anything. I'm just being selfish! Feeling sorry for myself! Please, please forgive me!"

"Jane, I had no idea you felt that way about David. Have you two ever...?"

"GOD NO! David would never cheat on you and I would never betray you like that!"

"Have you talked to him about this?"

"No, no, no, he has no idea how I feel about him. Oh, Amy, I have lusted after him from the time you first introduced him to me. He is the best guy I've ever known and he's why I've never married. The others just never measured up to him."

Amy just gaped at her friend. "Of course, I knew you liked him, but this? I mean, after all these years, how could I have been so blind?"

Jane hugged her lifelong friend. "I think at first I thought I was maybe just really, really fond of him, but for the last few years, I've known I have much stronger feelings for David. But, he's your husband, so I had to fight those feelings and keep my distance."

Suddenly Amy gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god! All those times we talked about sex! I told you everything!"

Jane couldn't help herself, she chuckled a bit, "Yes, my panties were soaked after each one of those talks. I was so envious of you and what you have with David. God, I loved hearing you talk about him while I imagined it was me with him in your bed."

"Jane!" Amy said, but couldn't stop the naughty smile that crept onto her face, "You're so bad."

Jane squeezed her hands, "I'm sorry, honey. I know how pathetic that makes me sound. I tried to find a guy just like your David, but I never could, and now my time is about to run out. I was feeling sorry for myself and then I had this crazy idea pop into my head."

"Jane, I..."

"No, it's okay, I mean, how stupid is it to ask your best friend if you can borrow her husband for a weekend? What could I have been thinking?"

"Jane, I love you like a sister. You mean everything to me, but I'm not sure I can do this."

"I know! It was silly of me, forget I asked. Besides, I'm sure David would never agree to it."

Amy stared off for a moment as new questions raced through her mind. "Would David say yes? Does he have secret feelings for Jane? Would one weekend with Jane change how he felt about their own marriage?" She shook her head and came back to the present.

"Okay, I'll ask him about it. If he says no, then that's the end of it. If he is willing, then... I guess I'll need to make a decision."

Now it was Jane's turn to gape at her best friend. "Seriously?"

"I am not sure how he'll react. I know he thinks the world of you, but this is a big thing. Give me a couple of days to talk it over with him."

Jane grabbed her arm. "Wait!... Amy, please take some time to think about it before you say anything to him. I sure as hell don't want to be the cause of any trouble between the two of you! If you think he'll be angry or offended, forget about it, don't ask him, and we'll keep this between us. Okay?"

Amy hugged her beloved friend, "That's why I love you. Even now, you'd rather deny yourself than see me hurt."

The two friends hugged and cried, and then Amy said she'd take her time to truly consider what she should do next.

Over the next ten days, Amy's mind churned with every scenario playing out in her head. She loved Jane, but did she owe it to her to share her husband? Could she live with the aftermath of giving David a hall pass? Would he even want to have pity sex with her best friend? What if sex with Jane was better than what he had with her? What if he got angry with her for even asking him about Jane's idea? God what a mess!

Amy prepared Dave's favorite meal and planned to ask him about Jane as they cuddled in bed. Halfway through the meal she got the call, Jane's sister told her Jane was gone. She had suddenly suffered a stroke. Jane had been home alone that evening and she died before she could be loaded into the ambulance.

Amy was devastated and cried through the entire funeral. Afterward, David tried his best to console his grieving wife. As he held her, Amy wept for her lifelong friend and David spoke softly to her.

"I know it's awful, but at least she got to say goodbye to everyone and she didn't have to suffer through a lingering death. She was your best friend and we both loved her. I wish there was something more we could have done for her before she passed."

With tears still falling from her face, Amy kissed her husband. "She loved you and cared deeply about our happiness. In the end, I'm sure she knew we'd do anything for her because that's what best friends do.

"Of course we would."

***

Weeks later David turned to his wife as they sat eating dinner. "Okay, out with it! You have been a space cadet lately. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

Amy's head snapped up in surprise as her husband spoke. She had once again been playing out the conversation she'd had with Jane. She blushed deeply.

"Oh, uh, nothing, I, er, I was just thinking about Jane."

David studied his wife. He took in her blush and the way she was stammering and he knew there was something she wasn't saying. What could she possibly be hiding from him that would cause her to blush?

"So what about Jane? What's been bothering you?"

"Uh, well, she uh, oh god!"

"Amy! Just tell me what's bothering you."

Amy took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she calmed herself. She took a long drink from her wine glass.

"Okay, I'm not sure I should say anything because it's really a moot point now, but two weeks before Jane had her stroke she asked me for a favor."

"A favor? Yeah, well, so what was the favor?"

"Well, she asked, and then she said to forget she had asked because she realized it was maybe too much to ask. Well, she was dying, but we thought she still had a few months before things would get bad for her. I was shocked she would ask, but we talked about it and I told her I'd think about it."

"Jesus, Amy, you're not making any sense! Just tell me what it was she asked of you!"

"You, David! She asked me to let her have you for a weekend!"

David's mouth dropped open, he stared disbelievingly at his wife. His mouth worked, but no words came out. Then he slowly composed himself and his face hardened.

"Bullshit! That's not funny! Why are you avoiding telling me what's really been bothering you?"

Amy shook her head then got up and walked to David. Reflexively, David pushed his chair back from the table and Amy sat in his lap. She spoke softly as she stroked his face.

"Baby, I'm not lying. Jane confessed to me that she was in love with you and she wanted to spend a weekend with you before she died. She knew it was a lot to ask, but she knew I would understand that she was not a threat to us because she was dying. She's carried a torch for you for years and she wanted to make love to you before she died."

"Oh my God! What, what did you say to her?"

"At first I was just too shocked to respond. It took me a few minutes to pull myself together and I guess my delay kinda freaked her out. She started apologizing and saying forget about it. She cried, I cried. It was very awkward. I mean, I love her, she was my best friend and I had sworn I'd do anything to make her last days the best of her life. I just never dreamed she'd ask for my husband."

Amy studied David's face. "Did you know? Did you know how she felt about you?"

"I, well, I knew she loved us both, but she never came on to me or anything. Oh, we flirted all the time, you know that, but... No. I had no idea she felt that way. Damn, that just blows me away."

"She said that was why she never married. She could never find a guy that measured up to you. She hid her true feelings. My god, I even talked to her about sex and stuff, and never once did she even hint about wanting to be with you."

"Damn.... So, what did you say? Did you agree to forget about it?... OH! I get it, she made you promise not to tell me."

"No, I er, I told her I would think about it. (David's brows shot up.) I promised her I'd think about it and then ask you if you would do it."

"But, you never did."

"No, I didn't. I didn't know if I could, then when I decided I should, I didn't know how to ask you. I was afraid, I wasn't sure I could handle your response."

David wrapped her into his arms, "Oh honey, I'm sorry you had to go through that, but she's gone now so it doesn't matter."

"I know it shouldn't matter, but I need to have it resolved in my mind. Please, David, I promise not to be upset, please tell me what you would have said."

David looked into his wife's troubled eyes, "You're not going to be able to let this go, are you?"

Amy shook her head. David took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, it's just a hypothetical now, so I can't really know if my answer would have been the same when it had real consequences."

Amy pulled a quizzical look, and David continued, "I mean, now that she's gone, it's all different I could easily say yes because I don't have to follow through. On the other hand, if I say no, there's no worry because she is not around to be hurt by my rejection. As you said, it's a moot point."

Amy nodded in agreement, "Yes, but I still need to know and I want you to give me an honest answer, not just what you think I want to hear."

David shook his head, "Damn, I think this exercise could be dangerous, are you sure we need to discuss this?"

Amy paused for a moment then nodded to David.

David gave a resigned sigh, "Okay, here goes. I guess I would have assumed you were willing to have me do it, or you would not have asked me. I think you decided you wanted to give Jane a bit of pleasure even if it caused you pain. We both loved her and felt awful about what was happening to her, but if I agreed, I would have had to consider what it would have done to us and our marriage?"

Amy had tears on her cheeks as she remembered the sorrow she had felt as she watched her friend grow ill. She had been desperate to do anything that would grant her friend a bit of joy before she passed away. "I just wanted her to be happy, even if it was just for a weekend."

"I know, Honey. You are such a loving person, that's why Jane felt brave enough to ask you for that favor. It was too much and I'm guessing Jane eventually realized it was too much."

"So you would have said NO? But, but, I was sure you would say yes. Jane was my very best friend, How could I refuse her dying wish?"

"Babe, for Jane it was a chance to live out a fantasy she had created in her head. Hell, we may have been awful together! But in her fantasy, it had to be spectacular. She had nothing to lose and no long-term consequences, but for us, it was forever.

"Had we done it, you may have felt better for a while, but what about later? Long after it happened, would you regret it? Down the road, would you hold it against me? Would you begin to resent what I did and feel like you needed payback? If you demanded a hall pass, could I refuse?

"Don't you see, for Jane, it was one weekend, something on her bucket list. For us, it would be around for the rest of our lives. Yes, it could have worked out fine, but it could have been a disaster.

In the end, I would have done what I thought was right for my Best Friend,... You."

Amy hugged him fiercely as she sobbed into his chest. "Thank you, Baby."

Amy felt relaxed and calmed as David held her. She realized it was guilt that had been haunting her. She had convinced herself to agree to Jane's request, but in her heart, she despised the idea. Had she truly been her best friend, Jane would not have tried to take advantage of their friendship.

Amy decided to believe it was Jane's illness that allowed her to ask too much of her friend. She will always remember Jane as a really good friend but David was right, her husband was her BEST friend. And she vowed never to forget it.

End

So in the end Davis said no, but, as he queried, would he have the strength to say no if Jane was still alive? To me that's the danger of hypotheticals, there are no true consequences.

So, if you were Amy, would you ask your husband to grant your dying best friend's wish?

If you were David and your wife asked you to do it, what would you say?

Lastly, would your answers be the same if the genders were all reversed?