When We Were 19, My Best Friend and I Pr0mised That If We Were Both Single at 60, We’d Find Each 0ther – I Turned 60 Last Tuesday, and My Old Landline Rang

And suddenly, every year between us disappeared.

I was standing outside a hospital room with one hand resting on the door.

Forty-one years.

That was how long it had been since I had seen Jeffrey.

Forty-one years since his final letter.

Forty-one years since he had asked me never to contact him again.

Now his son, Peter, was standing beside me.

“He keeps asking if you’re here yet,” Peter said.