When my brother, Nolan, and I were little, our best friends were two sisters Hillary and Aubree. We were the same ages, we went to the same church, and we lived in the same neighborhood off of Cooper Street in Arlington. Whenever we would play “house” together Hillary and I would make our younger siblings play “husband.” We would pretend clean. They would pretend work. At the end of our pretend day Hillary and I would prepare a pretend dinner and we would all dance together. 

 

After a lot of real time apart, after my brother and I had moved to Waxahachie, we still keep in touch. Hillary and I have matching Literature degrees, but now she has a real family—a daughter named Fin and a steady boyfriend. Nolan was the first of us to settle down (no surprises after so much pretend practice as husband!). Aubree, recently engaged, is not far behind him.