Later tuhday, ah jumpin orn ah bus an goin an see ah man who was ah damn good an close friend.

Ah hope nobody eh tinkin ‘Facebook’ when ah say dat because dat go just get mih vex an spoil everyting cause I torkin about real friend; good friend; true friend. De kind dat does qualify tuh be de one or two dat somebody could only dream ah havin.

We bounce up in school.

Ah didn’t know it at de time, buh someting about he did remind mih ah me. Dat strange tuh say considerin de first time ah notice him was because he was late fuh school an gettin detention. Ah tink de next, fill-in-any-number, times ah notice he again was fuh de same reason. Ah know fuh sure me an he didn’t click because ah runnin. Nope. Only he was de runner, I was de footballer — goalie as dat didn’t require plenty runnin. Maybe we click because we had de same kind ah wicked sense ah humor an we had sarcasm fuh days an did dish it out in huge servings. Whatever de reason, me an he click like two seat belt.

We friendship extend all de way parse 5^th an 6^th Form, parse leavin T&T at different times an into we early years livin in ah new country an tryin tuh adjust.

Dem was good days. De shit we used tuh do. Dat is de closest ah go get tuh sharin  cause as wid good friends, it have tings dat never go get tell by eidder ah we — tuh anybody.

As we move from teenagers, we take different tracks. He own take he out ah tong, mine take me someplace else. Wid de responsibilities each ah we had, de friendship fray an fizzle.

Towards de end, ah trus ah turntable from him dat I eh pay de man for up tuh now. Is only in recent years ah stop wonderin eef dat eh de reason we drift apart. Maybe tuhday we could agree orn ah price an ah square dat bill. Ah could tell mihself is tuh make room fuh any udder tings ah do in life dat ah does still feel ah owe for.

De larse time ah see he was about five years ago. Ah new job did take mih tuh not just de state he was livin in, buh de city. Forty-nine udder states an endless cities in each an I land in his. Tings get arranged so he end up being de one tuh meet mih at de train station. De man eh look ah day over 18, eef 18-year olds used tuh have grey hair dat is. He look like he could ah still put orn de larse grey pants, white shirt, black leather shoes an grey shocks he take orf years an years ago.

Me? Steups oui. Stitch two ah dem pants tuhgedder an two ah de shirts ah ah go give it ah try. Make de socks de compression kind.

Somebody ask mih eef ah excited. Ah steups cause it was eidder dat or admit it have some excitement percolatin. Like dem lil bubbles yuh does see in ah pot ah hot water orn de stove We know what does happen after dat so ah wasn’t admittin nuttin.

Anyway, ah go stop here, fuh now. Hopefully, ah manage tuh do what dem writin experts say ah good writer does do an ah leavin everybody hooked, waitin tuh find out how dis meetin, dis get tuhgedder, dis reunion of sorts work out. Eef ah eh manage tuh build excitement in nobody dat is okay; de water in dat pot gettin more bubbles.

So here ah is, orn de bus headin back home. Visit over.

De darkness outside makin it easier tuh tink about de seven hours ah spend; no ah cyar say it dat way; de seven hours we spend hangin out. It was much more dan dat.

Even doh we first words was wid me givin he wrong direction orn which part ah was, it was ah good sign. By de time ah open up he car door an siddong, was like we was torkin regular all dese years. Dat always ah good sign. Yuh does know yuh in trouble when yuh taxin yuh brain not knowin what tuh say next. Yuh wishin yuh someplace else.

I was hungry after dat bus ride so we went an eat in ah restaurant ah did like from when ah used tuh live in dat city. Dat was anudder good sign. When he ask de waitress fuh recommendations, she suggest de exact same ting I was orderin. He order it buh by de time he tell she all de parts tuh hold, she end up pointin tuh ah next choice closer tuh what he would ah end up gettin after all tings he didn’t want orn she first suggestion. Eef ah was still lookin fuh good signs, de interaction wid we an de waitress would ah be de best one dat de visit was goin an be good.

Some tings yuh could pick back up real easy. Fuh we, was de interplay we used tuh share an enjoy. Eef it was ah ole two-seater bicycle we eh ride in donkey years, we would ah slip back orn widout ah blink an nobody watchin wid ah know. I did know doh an ah had tuh probe tuh see where it had any sore points.

Ah bring up de turntable.

Ah laugh when he suggest ah pay him dis huge sum ah money. He keep he face straight. Mih laugh was because eef de roles was reversed he would ah laugh an I keep de straight face. Yes, we was like seatbelts again.

As ah tink about it more now, it wasn’t no turntable, was ah 8-track player. In de end, we solve de cost dilemma an ah hand over de agreed price — one dollar.

Unless yuh gettin torture by being someplace yuh doh want tuh be, seven hours not long. It was even shorter fuh we wid all de tings we was tryin an fit into dat lil bit ah time. It had memories, it had updates orn family an it had torts orn harnessin opportunities in de future. I was full by de time we had tuh start plannin how tuh spend de remainin hour plus before was me orn de bus.

We reach mih bus-stop before de bus an we stay in de car torkin. It eh had no sadness doh. Could it ah been because we did know what I describe earlier as de fray an fizzle, wasn’t final? Like he did say at one point, we, an by extension all de people like we, is de elders ah de universe. I know elders is people wid wisdom. Dat mean me an he done know one good get-tuhgedder cyar do nuttin by itself. Dat is why as we give each udder ah hug wid mih bus pullin up, we agree tuh stay in touch.

Hours after we part company, de same bus pullin into my tong. Ah reach back home.