True Friendship (A Short Story, Part Two)

Hi guys, and welcome back! Here is part two of my story.

The next day, Bridget paced the floor, sighed, then looked out the kitchen window for the tenth time. 

“When will they get here?” she asked her mother.

“Just another hour or so, be patient. Don’t you have chores to attend to anyway?”

“Well… but Connor is coming over!” 

“Go do them, then. It’ll help the time pass by more quickly.” Caitlin absentmindedly straightened out imaginary wrinkles in her dress, and looked over at Bridget, who had not yet moved. “Go!”

Bridget made a sour face at her mother when she wasn’t looking, then stood up and took in her hands cloth from the sink. Dipping it into the basin of water that was beside her, she noticed it wasn’t fresh; but she wasn’t in the mood to get more from the pump outside. This water would have to do.

As she began wiping the counters, she became jittery all over again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Connor, I’m so excited! It’s going to be so much fun to play with him. But I do hope he won’t be like those other kids who just get mad and leave when they don’t get what they want. Oh well, I’m sure he won’t. He is my cousin after all.

Although her chores certainly did not help the time pass by more quickly, finally the long–awaited wagon pulled up to the large Walsh estate. Bridget tore off towards her cousin.

“Let’s go play in the backyard, Connor!” she exclaimed when he jumped down.

“I want to explore the woods out there!” Connor said.

“No, it’s boring. I’ve been there a hundred times, there’s nothing new. How about we build a big fort!” Bridget exclaimed.

“I haven’t been there, though. How about we go to the woods first, and then do what you want. That way, we can do both.” Connor suggested. Bridget cocked her head to the side and was quiet for a second, then finally nodded her head.

“Fine, we can do both, but we build the fort first, then go into the woods.” Connor looked as though he was about to say something, but changed his mind, and just agreed.

The two of them rushed off together and began gathering all of the necessary materials for what they were about to build.

After quite some time, the ‘castle’ was made, and Bridget plopped onto the grass. She felt her eyelids begin to droop, and she felt the hot summer sun beating down on her.

“Are you ready to go into the woods now?” Connor asked. Bridget scrunched up her nose and shook her head. 

“I’m too tired! I don’t want to anymore. I just want to lie here for a little while.” with a satisfied smile, she leaned back and closed her eyes once again.

“That’s not nice, Bridget!” Connor exclaimed. “Playing with other people shouldn’t be all about you. There’s a way to play kindly with others, you know, instead of just being selfish and only doing what you want.” Connor began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Bridget cried as she sat up.

“Inside.” Connor stated angrily.

“No one ever wants to play with me! It’s not fair!” Bridget crossed her arms and glared at Connor as her Irish temper flared.

“Of course nobody wants to play with you! You’re being selfish, and no one wants to be around someone like that.” He turned around for a moment and faced her. “If you would just start being kind, and treating people the way you want them to treat you, you’d actually have friends and people who’d like playing with you.” He opened the door to the house, and slipped inside. 

Bridget slowly stood up and speechlessly stared at the door Connor had just walked through.

“Nobody likes me; it’s not fair. Why do they all have to be so mean?” she paused as she noticed her tabby cat had made his way into the back yard. She picked him up, sat down on a stump, and began stroking his soft fur. 

“Aran, I just don’t get it.” Bridget sniffled and wiped a tear from her face. “How come no one likes me?” her lip quivered, and a new feeling of despair began settling over her. What if no one ever likes me? What if I have to be lonely for the rest of my life? She was so overcome with feelings of fear and sadness, that she did not even voice her thoughts to her greatest confidant. 

“What will make people like me, Aran? When can I have friends?” She looked at her cat inquisitively, but the only response she got was a pitiful sounding meow. 

“Maybe I will just have to live a life of loneliness forever. I guess I just need to get used to it now.” she said after quite some time of careful thinking.

Bridget sat quietly for a moment, folded her hands in her lap, and hung her head. She finally accepted what the rest of her life would have to look like.

But as she closed her eyes, she remembered the words Connor had spoken to her. If you would just start being kind, and treating people the way you want them to treat you, you’d actually have friends.

Her head flew up, and her eyes popped open. Could that be it? She wondered. Maybe! She started to let herself get excited again, but was afraid it wouldn’t work. Was it worth it to try this new ‘strategy’ for making friends? She didn’t know. 

 “What do you think, Aran?” she asked. “Doing to other people what I want them to do to me. Well, I guess it kind of makes sense. I think I will try it. After all, there’s no harm in just trying something, right? And if I don’t want to, I can just change my mind.” She was quiet for a moment in contemplation. 

“Okay, if I was Connor, what would I want me to do with… me?” she knew the answer right away. Apologize. Play with him like I said I would. With a firm nod, she jumped up. I know what I need to do then. 

“Connor!” she called as she practically flew into the house.

“Child, whatever are you doing? What is wrong?” Caitlin asked, setting down her cup of hot tea.

“Where is Connor?” Bridget asked urgently.

“Why, he’s in the living room reading a book.”

Books are boring, was Bridget’s first thought. Pushing that aside and continuing on with her mission, she took off running again, and flung the door open. Connor looked up, clearly surprised, and annoyance flashed across his face. He just waited for her to speak. Bridget took a deep breath, and stopped. Apologies were not things she was used to. Still, if only for the sake of having someone to play with, she continued.

“I’m sorry, Connor, for being selfish.” she said. “Do you still want to explore the woods with me?” she held her breath.

He closed his eyes for a moment in careful thought, then finally shrugged his shoulders. 

“Sure!” he smiled crookedly and stood up. 

Bridget could barely contain herself from jumping up and down excitedly. The only reason she didn’t was because she knew she would probably break something if she did, and that would make her mother very upset. That wasn’t something she wanted. 

But Bridget did have what she wanted– someone to play with her, and take away the sting of loneliness. 

****

That night, after Connor and his family left, Bridget snuggled comfortably under her blankets for bed. She smiled contentedly and took a long, full breath. It had been such a wonderful day. She’d had the time of her life.

“Dear God,” Bridget began to pray, “I had so much fun with Connor today! I think that maybe if I try harder to share and be kind, I might have friends. If I do to other people what I want them to do to me, like he said. Please help me to do that and be a nice girl that people will like. Amen.”