My friend Crystal

My name is Antonella. I am Crystal's friend. In 2001, my life's journey led me to Denver, Colorado where I lived for 3 years. It was very hard for me to move away from my family and friends to this new and strange place, but fortunately for me, it wasn't long before I met Crystal. We met while working at St. Joseph's Hospital. Crystal and I immediately bonded, especially because we were both transplants.
During our first months of friendship, we talked about our old lives as big city girls-hair, make-up and fashion. We couldn't understand what we were doing here in Denver. Soon, we were able to convince ourselves that Denver wasn't such a bad place. We reluctantly tossed away some of our old city ways, bought some hiking boots and started exploring the Rockies. Life's transition seemed to be so much easier with Crystal as my friend.
But even before we started exploring the Rockies, Crystal and I spent some time in the city of Denver. One night stands out to me far more than the others. That was the night Crystal met Jason. I remember Crystal and I were just talking and enjoying our cocktails when Jason Lagrange came into the picture. He was admiring her from across the room. I immediately noticed and brought this to Crystal's attention. Unfortunately, for Jason, she wasn't interested. Her only words to me were, "He's a white boy." But Jason continued his pursuit and obviously won.
As time went on, our friendship became stronger. We went on double dates (now that Jason was in the picture), trips to the mountains, spent holidays together and yes, we still found time to go shopping.
My stay in Denver was short however. After 3 years I moved away, but my friendship with Crystal continues on. Nowadays, I too get the eary morning wake-up call while she is commuting to work, apparently I'm not her only victim. Luckily for her, I am on Eastern time-so my call is usually around 9am.
I hope that Crystal knows that even though we live far apart, she still continues to be part of my life and a very special friend.