The ironic flip-side of the coin

That last entry must make for quite a depressing read, but there\'s sort of a funny reason why everything that happened turned out to have a good side, and it involves me and Janette. I\'m not quite sure if it is \'good\', because it involves quite a manipulative act by Janette, an aspect of her character that I\'m still unsure of (though with no real reason behind it, other than some of the nonsense Meech used to say).

See, although I liked Janette since the day I first met her (there\'s another funny story about that, it was actually a few years ago, but I\'ll keep that one for a tale to tell in the pub), I used to be absolutely terrified of her. For a few weeks, no matter how hard she tried, and trust me when I say she can be blunt, she just couldn\'t get past the wall I put up. I was terrified because 1) I have a tendancy to think anyone who likes me is crazy, 2) because she is Meech\'s cousin, and I initially didn\'t want to step on any toes, and 3) because she\'s Canadian, and at the time I really didn\'t want to get involved with someone I knew would have to go home one day.

Then, one night, she broke through the wall. See, Janette is Meech\'s cousin. Meech is one of my best friends, and my flatmate. I\'ve known Meech longer than I\'ve known just about anyone, I\'ve known him since Primary school. Obviously his Mum knows me well, and knows all about what I wrote about in my last entry, especially the stuff about my sister, since that was big news in Moodiesburn back then... an odd claim to fame, but everyone knew who I was because of it. Obviously, Meech\'s Mum is Janette\'s Aunt. And... she talks an awful lot. Being that I\'m Meech\'s oldest friend and flatmate, and someone Janette was interested in, they obviously talked about me, and Meech\'s Mum being Meech\'s Mum, she obviously told her all the whole sorry tale.

One night we were all out in the Garage. Once again, Janette was being... er... \'blunt\', and I was on the defense, choosing instead to spend as much time running away like a frightened schoolgirl. For one reason or another, when everyone went home, I spend the whole time talking to her, about all kinds of things. We walked from the Garage to Rigies, just talking about stuff, ourselves, as everyone else fannied about behind us. We talked all the way home, she stayed with me and Meech, as did Scruff. Meech went to bed, Scruff passed out on the couch, and the two of us continued talking, through the whole night, till fuck knows what time in the morning. Why? Because she managed to break down that wall. How? Because, having her own tragic tales to tell (not for me to write here), she brought up and talked to me about everything Meech\'s Mum had told her. No-one, and I mean no-one, has ever done that before. The defenses collapsed, and I fell in love.

Now, as I say, it was a terribly manipulative thing for Janette to have done (by her own admission), and I\'ll probably chin her for it one day... but had these awful things not happened to me in my childhood, she\'d have nothing to break my wall down with, we wouldn\'t be together, and we wouldn\'t be looking to get married and build our own little family.

I just thought that was kinda funny, in a bittersweet kinda way.