James and I - the friendship

Fast forward to the next school year - my fourth but not final (thanks to that extended vacay to Hawaii).  This is now Sept 1991.

Prior to now I'd had a group of friends that I did things with who were mostly from Calgary, but it seemed by that September that most of them had either graduated, got married, went on missions, or changed schools.  All that was left was Bryce, James and I.  And this is the short version:  our large group became a group of 3 that became a group of 2 (without Bryce).  But of course, there is more to it than just this.

That fall Bryce wanted to start an organization that would connect university student volunteers with inner-city agencies that needed the help.  And since it was Bryce, he just assumed (correctly) that this was something I'd love to help with - I don't really remember him asking me so much as telling me that I'd be involved in running this group.  But if you know Bryce, you'll get it. 

And that's how the Student Inner-city Service Association was born...SISA for short...and that pretty much sums up my entire free time for the next 3 years!!  But that's really a blog for another time.
There are only 2 important things to know for this story:

1.  SISA caused James, Bryce, and I to spend even more time together
2.  I volunteered to tutor at both the Boyle Street Co-op and at Vic Comp - and so did James.  We usually tutored together, so during the rides to and from, we got to know each other and we became comfortable.  And, as another side note, I think my friend from the previous post also joined us on some days - and I'm not sure, but she may have signed up to volunteer here because of James.  Okay, if we are being totally honest - and why not, it was years ago...- I may have signed up here because of Bryce....sigh, it's true...I first had a crush on James' cousin...

But I digress....

What do I remember most about our developing friendship?  Movies.  That was our go-to activity.  Bryce would usually rent a movie and ask if I wanted to come watch.  It wasn't until I would arrive at their apartment that I would remember that they didn't own a VCR!!  Bryce would just call around and find someone willing to have us come over and use their equipment - even if they weren't home. 

Memory is funny....it's hard to look back on those times and not see James as the James I now know.  Know what I mean?  These memories are coloured by the years in-between.  Was there really a time that we weren't best friends?  [Side note:  Olivia always wants to know who is my bff and she is ALWAYS disappointed when I say James].

But there was a time when we were just friends, and it was the 3 of us together quite a bit that fall.  But little by little, it became just James and I.  I think Bryce just got busy doing other things, or maybe doing school things?  Who knows, but it seemed that by Christmas for sure things had changed from the 3 of us to the 2 of us with Bryce sometimes along for the ride.   But more on this next time.


Here are 2 other memories from that fall:

1.  During one of those movie nights (we were at the Den btw for those who know), I remember looking over at James in his baseball cap and thinking - wow, he's hot!  Not in an "I like him" kind of way, but just in an interesting "he's my friend and I've never noticed this before" kind of way.

2.  I also remember very clearly talking to my friends about a date I'd been on.  This boy had been a crush of mine before his mission, and now that he was back we'd gone out once or twice.  After this specific date I was complaining to my friends how the whole evening was stilted and conversation just didn't flow.  I'd told them I had had nothing to say (unbelievable, isn't it....has anyone else ever seen that happen???).  The funny thing is that  I actually compared that date with this guy I thought I liked, to my many endless and effortless conversations with James.  I think I even finished my thought with something like "James and I get along so great and things are always easy....why don't I like him?"  Little did I know what the future would hold...