When M and I lived a five-minute walk from each other, our friendship accelerated and intensified because it was so easy to live life side by side. We could spend an evening on opposite ends of M’s couch, legs stretched toward each other and noses buried in our own books, and it wouldn’t feel like we had wasted each other’s company. The casual time we spent together acquainted me with M’s everyday behaviors that, once known, added up to intimacy: how she heats water for sixty to ninety seconds (the duration depends on the microwave) to get it to her preferred temperature. How M moves each hand
...more
