You’ll marry me now? Dad says mom married him ‘cause he brought her flowers and candy.” He furrowed his brow in thought. “I don’t have any candy … but I can getcha a frog.

I learned a lot that night—like how incredibly mind blowing ho-hos and wine coolers were together, how that you could discover the answers to life’s most difficult questions by watching Buffy, but most of all, that no matter what was going on in life—a best friend could make it all seem bearable.