Physical Graffiti

She said: " If you love him, fight for him. To hell with what people say. Everyone can give advice and be the expert, but it's your life and you have to do as you see fit...you say you love him endlessly, then prove it to yourself".
I sat back in my chair and contemplated.
Only a true friend would shout at you the very words that you long to hear and really mean them. No judgment, no bullshit.
She asked me: "Quickly, tell me the first three things you like about him."
I didn't hesitate. "His intellect, his smile and his touch. They are unlike any other".
She smiled at me and said: "Okay, now we're gettin' somewhere!".
Weird how when someone asks you to say something like that aloud, for yourself to hear, it puts new life into it. I was always of the notion that if you push beyond your limits, you end up ruining what you once had. You destroy all those good memories and replace them with bad ones. I realized that I was focusing on that way too much. I've been, for weeks, brow beating myself into believing that this entire process was meaningless, too arduous, too daunting a task to see myself through.
"Relationships are always hard" she said. "You'll have a lot of ups and downs and many challenges, but your history can only make you stronger and it's the end result that counts the most...to hell with the rest".
I smiled, sipped my tea and told her that I refused to stick my nose into the apathetic air and ignore my feelings, my true feelings at that. I reveled in the fact that Icould do this, see it through to the end and that my love for him is strong and ever lasting, no matter what.
She left me with this nugget: "A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour."
Amen.