Thursday, August 21, 2008

When Friends Become Family

The other night, I had the pleasure of catching up with family friends visiting from London, Charles and Diane. Our families have a long and rich history together – Charles’ dear parents, Tilly and Alf, were best friends with my own for more than 35 years. That history deepened during my junior year abroad in London back in 1993 and has continued to grow ever since.


We dined at Ruth Chris in Midtown, enjoying several of the legendary steak house chain’s specialties. I started off with veal osso buco ravioli then savored every heavenly bite of a petite filet, cooked to perfection. I never knew it was possible for red meat to melt in your mouth. It’s official—this was the best steak I’ve ever had. Equally sublime were the sides that we shared – steak fries and sweet potato casserole – and dessert, a sinful banana cream pie.


Over our mouth-watering meal, we caught up on personal and professional developments, and reminisced about our glorious afternoon at Royal Ascot last summer. Charles, a style maven who owns a posh women’s clothing boutique, managed to find me a last-minute ensemble for the occasion. I was not exaggerating when I told him and Di that the experience of attending Royal Ascot felt like something out of “My Fair Lady.”

The posh crowd at Royal Ascot, June 2007


Dressed to the nines at Royal Ascot

That afternoon was one of many I’ve enjoyed with Charles and his family, including his sister Cheryl. All of them fall into that rare category of friends who have become family. The closeness we share is made even more special knowing that, somewhere, all of our beloved parents are delighting in the continuation of the love and friendship they enjoyed for so many years.

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