Sleep Buddy (bp coyle)

I remember someone telling me about it, I think it was Sara ironically, when we had just begun to date. My reaction was the normal one: ‘Oh my God, what will they think of next?’

In fact, I don’t think I really believed her at all. A sleep buddy? It just sounds so dumb. But she insisted it was true. People will advertise for someone to share their bed in a totally platonic way.

I had forgotten that conversation until tonight, It’s twenty past midnight and I have long given up on the hope of sleep. I am lying on my back in the dark, listening to the rain.

Truth is, I don’t like sleeping alone. Sara and I had gone to bed together every night for the four years that we lasted. This is the only time I miss her. The rest of the day I am quite happy she’s gone.

No idea why the memory of sleep buddies came to me. Only, now it doesn’t seem silly at all. It’s very reasonable. I would love to feel a body beside me, the mattress moving softly with their breath. The bed suddenly smaller.

The night less immense.