What It Takes by Zahra Al-Harazi

Author:Zahra Al-Harazi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2019-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

I was in line at the bookstore one day when I noticed that the woman in front of me was in my illustration class. I introduced myself and learned that her name was Louise. The casual chat we shared while waiting to buy our supplies cemented a friendship that has lasted through a lifetime of change. Louise and I were complete opposites in many ways, starting with our looks: she is a six-foot-tall blond beauty with emerald-green eyes. Our styles were just as different: I was all about deep color and the intricacies of ornate design; she loved Danish minimalism. I loved to cook rich, bold, experimental meals. She survived on open-face sandwiches. She was laid-back and calm, and I was (and still am) several bundles of mad energy.

And then there was Jon. Young and oh so talented, Jon was a farm boy from Saskatchewan who called me “Mom” in a very sarcastic voice every time I tried to mother him—which happened a lot. My kids still call him Uncle Jon.

Louise, Jon, and I, along with our friend Mike, created an inner circle of students who hung out together all the time, often at Vicious Circle, a bar with saggy couches and dusty chandeliers, or the Ship and Anchor, a popular hangout on 17th Avenue where, on sunny days, we would sit at picnic tables on the patio listening to live music.

Louise’s typical response to me then—and now—was a wry smile and an exasperated shake of the head. When we met, I was getting up to things she had done in her teen years; she seesawed between being my partner in crime and the grown-up, with arms crossed, telling me no.

Louise is the only person in my life who knows absolutely everything about me, good and bad. I’ve always been able to tell her anything: insecurities, worries about my children, concerns about my marriage. We’ve talked about life and love and loss and everything in between. She still has a photo of me, taken at four in the morning, while we were working on a project for school; in it, I’m wearing oversized red velour pajamas, ginormous glasses, and rollers in my hair. Every time I get too full of myself, she threatens to post it where people can see it.

Everyone needs a good ego-disciplining friend like my tall, beautiful friend Louise.

When I could not stay at school for long hours or pull all-nighters in the studio, as many of our classmates could, Louise would come to our house to work and keep me company into the wee hours of the morning, drinking tea and eating biscuits. My kids still call her Auntie Louise—she tells them not to call her that anymore but secretly loves that they do. She is less fond of my nickname for her: Weezy.

During one particularly grueling stretch of work when she was spending most of her time at my house, she said, “You know, your kids can’t walk by without your reaching out to hug or kiss them or to tell them how good, smart, or beautiful they are.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.