Smiled

“By the way, about that new relationship I mentioned.” I leaned in, and changed topics from my questions about Jenny. “Still tight with that girl, only have met her twice in person and backed off because her parents don’t like me so I rather she work it out with them before we proceed.”

“Makes sense,” he affirmed.

“I wonder if this is me punishing myself for something outside my control, but I want to do right by her. I am fine with being her friend and would rather that to me making her commit super hard emotionally when practically it may not work out.”

My friend grunted, but said: This is completely unrelated to the conversation we were just having right?

“This came to mind because I was thinking of the ways in which I am similar to Jenny. Whenever relationship talk comes up I come up with weird analogies to my own experiences and wonder if I can do better. Like what you went through with Jenny was good food for thought regarding how my own toxicity has manifested in past relationships.”

“Your similarities with Jenny are superficial,” he said. “You are not evil at your core.”

I laughed. “Jenny is not evil either! She is an angel of peace. On the scale of human kindness she is low, but the divine works in mysterious ways. Her transcendent kindness may be beyond our understanding. Besides, it's not like there were no upsides. She has a lot of charming and charismatic traits, and attractive in her own ways to you.”

Mitchell nodded. “There are many lessons to be learned from my relationship with Jenny. Mostly lessons for me, but for those close to me that heard most of the stories it was a good learning experience.”