unexpected friendship

I started working at the Northridge about 10 months ago. And for about the first 3 or 4 months, everyone that I worked with thought I pretty much had no personality and no concept of fun. I think there are a couple reasons for this. First, because I’m kind of shy and my fun side comes out after I know people better. Second, because I am a Christian, my concept of fun is kind of different than theirs, and I don’t participate in a lot of things they do, (smoking pot, getting drunk…..).

Carlos is my manager and was one of those guys that had no interest in even knowing me. Tonight was our last night working together.

Neither of us ever thought we would be friends. We are so opposite and different than each other. He has four kids, is 39 and single, loves to drink a lot, works 7 days a week in pursuit of the almighty dollar, is not a Christian, speaks English with a strong El Salvadorian accent, loves to bet on sports, and kind of perverted, but has a great sense of humor, is very generous, a hard worker, a good father, and very loyal.

Somewhere along the way, though, he became more than just some guy I work with. So much so, that he got tears in his eyes and gave me a kiss on the cheek when we said goodbye tonight. Not in a way that seemed weird, like it would have a couple of months ago…just in a way that seemed really sweet. And I was surprised to discover that I will miss him. He’s a good friend.