SUNDAY STORYTIME - 03.31.24
The Best Friend I No Longer Have
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The Best Friend I No Longer Have
It wasn’t a chance meeting. I had just lost a dear friend and another friend of mine suggested that I needed someone new in my life. I resisted. Perhaps, I was thinking that another friendship would only lead to more heartbreak. But she persisted, showing me a picture of this new guy, and arranging for us to meet the next Saturday afternoon. With no shortage of trepidation, I finally agreed.
When I walked into the place, it was filled with two dozen strangers. None of them had ever seen me before, nor I them. But this guy my friend wanted me to meet spotted me from across the room, and pushed his way through the crowd to greet me. It was our first encounter, yet we embraced like old friends. Though I didn’t even know his name, our bond was instantaneous.
We left together that day, heading for my mountaintop home, some four hours from his birthplace of Richmond, Virginia. Sitting on my deck overlooking the Shenandoah Valley that night, we both knew, just knew, that we were embarking on the friendship of a lifetime. High overhead, in the blackest of night skies punctuated by billions of pinpoint stars, there was a singular light that commanded our attention. A comet, named after the Japanese astronomer who first spotted it, was blazing a brilliant streak across the velvety background of a moonless night. So brilliant. So mesmerizing. It was an unmistakable sign.
“Comet,” I said out loud. “Your name is Comet.”
The young Border Collie sitting next to me looked deep into my eyes, wagged his tail, and instantly acknowledged his name. It had only been about six hours since he raced to my side from across that pen full of pups at the rescue shelter, but the bond was already forming. From that moment on, there was never a doubt that the best friend I would ever know would be named Comet.
Possessing an intellect greater than most I have met, and a sense of humor that surpassed all, Comet was the only friend I have ever had with whom I could confide everything. He never judged. Never questioned. Always listened. And he knew how to make me feel better, regardless of what was happening in my life.
Comet had the uncanny ability to know what I was thinking even before I, myself knew. He knew when I needed a nuzzling. Knew when I needed a laugh. Knew when I needed a walk through the mountaintop woodlands. Knew when I just needed someone to listen.
When I was feeling down, Comet would get that look in his eye, and curl up the corners of his mouth in a mischievous smile that warned me he was about to do something funny. Then, he would do it. (Run crazily around the outside of the house, do a somersault down the front lawn, or pretend to chase one of the cats - he knew better than to actually antagonize those dangerous fur balls.)
I shared more thoughts and feelings with Comet than any human I have ever known. He listened. To everything. Without judgement. He offered comfort. Without criticism. He offered love. Without condition.
Others have shared their lives with dogs. They will say their best friends never said a word to them. But Comet did speak to me. It wasn’t English, but he did talk. His collection of snorts, squeaks, grunts, chuffs and growls were as well defined as any human language, and he taught me to be a fluent listener. Research suggests Border Collies are capable of learning as many as fifteen-hundred words of the English language. If that’s true, Comet got an earful.
I had twenty wonderful years with my best friend, Comet. I watched with silent sadness as age began to sap his strength. Our walks across the mountainside got shorter. And shorter, still. As smart as ever, and witty to the end, the day came when Comet’s body had finally betrayed his mind. As he laid on the porch, he gave me that final look, the final communication, that asked me to do the right thing. I knew I had to say goodbye.
Years. More than I wish to count, have passed since I lost the best friend I will ever know. Yet I can still see that mischievous look in his eye. I can feel that smooth swipe of comfort from his tongue on my face. I can hear him say the words he never spoke.
There will never be another like him. I am richer for having known Comet. I am poorer for having lost him. I can sense that missing part of my soul that has traveled away with him, and it will always make me hurt. I can feel that part of his soul that still travels within me, and it will always bring me joy.
Many of us believe we will be reunited with those we love, one day beyond our passing from this earth. I can only hope that it is true. I will find myself in a place filled with the many people I have loved in my lifetime. And through that crowd, one guy will spot me from across the room, and come running to me for the warm embrace I have missed so much. To feel my soul rekindle the unique bond I shared with Comet would truly be, for me, Heaven.