Friend in Need

I met Olof I think 15 years ago, my youngest daughter introduced him. At first I had to get used to Olof because he did not talk much and I also wasn’t a man of many words. My daughter told me, Olof comes from Cape Town, he was born there. If I must explain Olof’s color I should say he is middle brown but absolutely not black. I have nothing against black; it is just not my favorite color. When I got to know Olof better, it turned out that he was easy going and had many friends. We also became good friends and I learned that he came from an old Cape Town family, dated back to 1643. He was named after his great great-grandfather.

As I mentioned, Olof did not talk much, but I started talking a lot especially when Olof encouraged me.  My wife did not like Olof much, not because of his color, she isn’t a racist. She didn’t like Olof, because he made me do all the talking, and she accused Olof of putting words in my mouth what I normally wouldn’t say.  Words like, “Where is my food” and “leave me alone” She also accused Olof of staying to long when visiting. I tried to explain to her that it is not nice to speak about Olof like that because I regarded him as my friend but she wouldn’t have any of it. 

A few days ago she invited Johnnie and Jack, which are old friends of hers dating back to her high school years. I hadn’t see Johnnie for a long time which I didn’t mind as he is always too much involved with my wife when he is around.

I was not informed that she invited her old pals, and when they arrived I felt a bit apprehensive to socialize with them. Unfortunately Olof was not present, I didn’t see him for a few days which left me with an uneasy feeling as I got used to Olof being around all the time. My wife insisted that I showed Jack our new bar and make him feel at home, while she went with Johnnie to the kitchen to make us some snacks.

So here I was sitting with Jack talking about everything what game up. In the beginning I was looking at Jack and thought, “He has nearly the same complexion as Olof, maybe a bit darker but absolutely not black”. You know black is not my favorite color. As I started talking, I also noticed that Jack was not a big talker just as my friend Olof. All these similarities made me a bit more comfortable with Jack.

Jack comes from Tennessee in America. I am sure it's like Wimbledon in England where you also see a lot of tennis. He didn't volunteered a lot about it.

I do not make friends easily and I am always on the lookout for trouble makers or opportunists. I noticed strait away something was wrong but I could not quit pin point it, but after a while I had it figured out. He was sour, not like unpleasant or bad-tempered but sour like bitter and pungent. I do not like my friends to be bitter or pungent, so I immediately took a dislike in him and was very happy when my wife and Johnnie returned from the kitchen with our snacks.

When Jack and Johnnie where standing together, I took my wife apart, figural speaking, and said to her what I thought of Jack. She was shocked and first she didn’t want to believe me. After I explained to her that I really could not relate to pungent friends, she suggested that I should have a word with Johnnie; maybe he could come up with a solution.   

Johnnie comes from a very big sporty family; they do a lot of walking. They already won many colorful medals. To discuss an issue with Johnnie like the one I had with Jack was not easy because I also didn’t know Johnnie very well.  I didn’t have much choice and again I wished Olof was here to help me. Olof never failed me or let me down.

I started with Johnnie the same way as I did with Jack and thought his complexion is lighter than Olof and much lighter than Jack. I was not sure if this was good or bad. I had to go through this and didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I was still very consciousness about the fact that he was involved with my wife back in her high school years. After trying to like Johnnie, all of a sudden I couldn’t take it any longer and screamed to my wife, “I am going to look for Olof” “I need him; I can’t do without him.”

Before my wife could say coca cola, I was gone. I did not drive far when I found him at our local bottle store ogling a stranger. I immediately felt jealous, stormed forward and pushed this son of a decent mother away and grabbed Olof and took cover at the teller. The teller knows me very well and understood what was going on and calmed me down. After another reassuring word from the teller, I left still holding tight onto Olof.

When I returned home, my wife was deeply in conversation with Johnnie but Jack was standing at one side sulking. I told them my story about rescuing Olaf and my wife said that she always thought I had it in me and that I am a hero. The rest of the evening went without any incidents, my wife, Johnnie, Olof and I had a wonderful evening. Jack never said a word about anything, which I don’t mind “Pungent prick”.

Meet my friends Jack, Olof and Johnnie.