Imaginary Friend

In the past year I have had the great fortune to make a new friend, her name is Aimee. There are so many amazing things about Aimee: she is a screenwriter, she loves good food, she has a family but makes time for herself and she and I have similar taste in many things. During my hospital stay, Aimee called to check on me daily, visited the hospital bringing books and DVDs and was just an all around great friend. I've met her husband Lee and her adorable high spirited daughter Ella, and Aimee has been to my house. Now the funny part of this, during all this time my husband has never met Aimee. Just one of those never crossed paths moment, I'm not hiding Aimee, they just haven't met. So, Steve has decided that Aimee is my "imaginary friend."
His reasoning: Debz know a "person", who likes exactly what she like, writes screenplays and has even entered and become a finalist in a screenplay competition and that he has never seen. This equals "imaginary friend." When I tell Steve about interesting things that Aimee and I talk about, or her writing Steve's answer is "You know, this imaginary friend of yours is very cool. Not creepy like the imaginary friends in the movies."
When I told Aimee about Steve's theory she said "Well, its better than him thinking you're having an affair."
On Saturdays after writing group, Aimee and I usually have lunch. This past Saturday we were laughing about imaginary friends, and setting up a time for Steve to meet Aimee when I suddenly had a Twilight Zone moment.
What if Aimee is imaginary? Meeting someone who feels like a kindred soul is a great and often rare experience. What if during my time in screenwriting, job change and life changing health problems I simply phased out from reality and created this friend? As I sat across the table, I glanced around the cafe to see if anyone was staring at our table. I figured that if I was sitting alone, talking and laughing to myself someone would be staring. No one was looking. This feeling lasted only a moment, but it was a strange feeling. It made me appreciate friendship and realize just how important friends are. It also made me realize how lucky we all are that we get to add to our group of friends! It also made me realize...I really got to set up a time for Steve to meet Aimee!