Nothing Lost, by Kim Hare

You drive home in shock, thinking never again. Yet what had you imagined? That you’d meet up, raise a glass to each other, that Maddy would be different, changed? Yes. You had hoped to find something you’d had years ago, during your teens and early twenties, a connection, a bond forged by shared moments, laughs, struggles. Now you see it was never true. You realize that then, as now, what Maddy wants is an audience or a counsellor, a driver, even a cook or a cleaner, but not a friend. Maddy never has and never will require a friend.