The Things That Keep Us Apart
Kelvin eagerly opened the envelope he’d just been handed by his best friend Stu. Inside were pictures from Kelvin’s recent wedding. They were blurred and grainy. Kelvin’s dis-appointment grew with each new photo.
“This is some kind of joke, right?” He stuffed the photos back in the envelope and tossed them at Stu.
“What do you mean?” asked Stu.
“These are…crap!”
“You don’t like them?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I used some very expensive high-speed film to achieve those effects. I’m sorry you don’t like them. C’mon, Kelvin! Give a guy a break for doing you a favor to save you some money.”
“Look, I never asked you to photograph my wedding. You offered your services free of charge as a gift. You’re a photographer—yet there’s not one usable print here.”
Stu felt struck. “I can’t believe you just talked down to me like that! I would never do that to a friend.”
Kelvin countered with some choice words and the argument escalated. The groom felt shortchanged; the photographer believed his artistry and effort were not appreciated. Two friends parted that day and never spoke to one another again.
Years later, each would wonder whatever happened to the other. Kelvin learned that Stu was an art director for a popular fashion magazine; Stu heard from a mutual friend that Kelvin and his wife had just celebrated their 10th anniversary by exchanging their vows again. Both men realized that they had in-appropriately weighted their disappointment with one another and ended what was once a solid friendship. And they each wondered what life would’ve been like had things turned out differently.
Sometimes it’s not who’s right or wrong that matters; it’s whether the matter gets resolved.
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