My friends, chapter 1: ZACH

I am blessed. I am dearly, dearly blessed in my life. I have great friends. I think I should spend some time, now and again, talking about one friend at a time. Should you feel a little squirrely about appearing in/on this blog, please leave a comment to that effect and I will know to use a code name when it's your turn. Zach doesn't get that privilege I guess, 'cause he's first.
Zach and I grew up in exactly the same place at exactly the same time but we never met. El Paso, just on different sides of town. I grew up in the middle of the east side suburbs. He lived all the way on the other side of town, on the west side where all the rich kids grew up. We met in El Paso at a party but we never really talked much or got to know each other until we both lived in Austin. In 1998 I moved to Austin from El Paso. He was already here, going to UT. When I met him he had long hair in a pony tail. Once we met back up in Austin he had cut his hair and changed his attitude enough to talk to me. We became quick friends. He was good friends with Ryan, my friend since kindergarten, and we all used to hang out. I loved being with them because they let me be Mormon without a hassle. We liked going to shows, coffee shops, galleries, and just eating, chatting, and laughing. Zach was in an honors program at UT; Humanities. We used to talk a lot about religion; he liked the mythological side of it while I enjoyed the practical/applicable aspects. None of his girlfriends ever liked me. There was the one who made fun of me for not drinking saying, "Didn't Jesus Himself partake of wine?" Zach was kind of annoyed with her after she said that. He quickly came to my aid declaring, "We like Kristi not to drink." I don't even think it was a loaded remark but rather, a compliment of sorts. Like, we don't need her to participate in that in order to love her the way we do.
We had a lot of fun over the years. He saw me through some pretty weird transitional times. He even performed a song with me at church, Mormon church! I know that was a stretch for him, but he was a great sport. It was a song he wrote and I wrote lyrics on top of it. It was great. The only semi-difficult part of it was the laughs a certain lyric caused, something about a girl with volcanoes in her chest, an unfortunate metaphor for twenty somethings. Zach and I didn't catch the seeming innuendo. I wish we had. I would have kept the volcano singular instead. Ha ha! Good times.
Well, years came and went. He went with me to the jewelery store when I picked out my engagement ring. He was at my wedding reception, trying to keep Ryan and my brother from ditching the event. He was the only heterosexual guy friend I was allowed to have post-marriage. He moved to Champagne, IL for design school. Ryan went, too. We kept in touch. He ended up moving to Chicago. The following year I ended up there, too. My husband, at the time, got into law school up there. We stayed with Zach as we looked for a place to live, jobs, etc. He was a great host and took us to all kinds of great events and places including ART CHICAGO, a huge exhibit in a massive white tent in Grant Park. He introduced me to Margie's Candies, downtown Chicago, a place to get real hot fudge sundaes from heaven. Why they had a ceiling high, towering display of porcelain Victorian dolls covered in inches of grime and dust I will never know. But, yes, the fudge was life saving, especially during my divorce.
When I called Zach to tell him I was getting divorced he simply said, "Of course you are, Kristi, of course you are," in that knowing, kindly, big brotherly sort of voice. I hadn't even told him the part about the Ukrainian girl! He already knew it would be coming I guess, sooner or later. That reaction alone helped me feel better in a very bleak hour that lasted for about 27 months.
I ended up moving back to Austin. Zach is still up in Chicago. He's publishing books and designing things that make your mouth water and getting really famous. I saw him last weekend at Nomads, a place people apparently go to sing Indie Karaoke. It was great. I sang Morrissey. He sang Cat Power with Ryan. We parted with a forlorn hug. He's so like a brother, and not in the cheesy sense, like that thing you tell boys when they like you too much. No, he is like a soul brother, forever. I love you, Zach.