VANESSA

Vanessa came into my life when I was working in a restaurant with panoramic views over the beach.
I was a bit reserved and dubious about her when we first met, but very quickly realised that was just silly talks from people who didn't know her.
Working in a restaurant meant that a normal social life with Friday and Saturday nights in a pub or club was out of the question, but we went to "The Royal" every Thursday, when it was '80s night and the drinks cost £1 for vodka and mixer.

Vanessa was still, at 24 years of age, hiding the fact that she would have a drink sometimes from her mother, something I found hilarious!
Vanessa introduced me to drinking Tia Maria and coke, and when she told me about this mixture I thought she must be mad, coffee and coke????
You wouldn't pour a glass of coke into a cup of coffee would you?
But for some reason it works and I was soon hooked, the same goes for Asti, sweet fizzy sparkling wine, since neither me or Vanessa likes the taste of alcohol.

Our nights out would always start with getting a chinese take away.
Chicken fried rice with curry sauce, which I had never eaten before, but after trying it once I was hooked and it is still my favourite chinese dish.

So after we had spent the evening in The Royal we would stagger home, arm in arm, chatting very loudly and without any boundaries about the naughty things we had experienced in the past, and one day we told each other "You will always be my friend, because you know too much about me to be my enemy"

In the summer of 2000 Vanessa got married to her "high school sweetheart", I was at the church and it was a beautiful service.
Vanessa and her husband have two beautiful boys together, unfortunately her husband wasn't so beautiful in his ways and they have since divorced, well good riddance is all I will say about him.

I feel bad for not being there for Vanessa as much as I should have been when they were going through the divorce, she lost most of her friends at that point and I should have given her more support than I did.
I have no excuses, but the explanation that I had just got engaged, I was so wrapped up in planning food, trying on dresses and visiting venues.
When me and Him broke up I dealt with it by shutting myself out and away and not contacting anyone, thankfully me and Vanessa have "rekindled" our friendship again, which i am so glad for, she is an amazing friend, a great woman and I am lucky to have her back in my life.

I think back to that year 1999-2000 when we had our "wild hay days" and I remember exactly what we meant when we said "You will always be my friend, you know too much to be my enemy", but times has past and it doesn't seem that bad anymore, and it is certainly not the reason why we are still friends.

Its the fact that Vanessa is loyal, funny and has a heart of gold, and still is in the top 5 of friends who can make me cry with laughter.

I am staying with her the last week of my "English life" which will be great and I will miss her loads when i go back.