We called ourselves the Three Musketeers! Our friendship began in grade school and continued into our early thirties. It was about then that we began separate lives. I was a high school English teacher. Billy W. was an insurance adjuster for a national company. Dwayne M. was president of his own electronics business. We still managed, however, to meet at least once a month--often sooner. Ours was a tight band of brotherhood! And joining us at these meetings was June Carrol, our Lady Guinevere. We had known June since childhood, also, and considered her an equal partner in our friendship. But the three guys secretly and separately longed to be her Sir Lancelot! I say secretly because June never gave indication that she preferred any one of us over the other. And our relationship was so platonically balanced, not one of us wanted to upset the delicate intermingling of emotions by going public with our romantic fantasies. Of the three musketeers, I believe I loved June the most, and, egotistically, I thought June had the same feelings for me. But to my disappointment and wrenching heartache, I was one day proven wrong! "Sonny, you're Billy's best friend," June said, "could you do me a big favor?" I had the feeling that something dreadful was about to happen! "Would you give this note from me to Billy?" June continued. The walls of the diner where the two of us had pre-planned a meeting, began to collapse around me! "Of course!" I replied weakly. I knew instinctively that June had made a choice, and that I, who had loved her so much, was to be the go-between of her budding romance. I was crushed beyond belief! As it turned out, I was the instrument that brought June and my best friend, Billy, together, and, eventually, to their marriage! There is no torture comparable to the one I felt as, step by step, I was asked to make arrangements for June and Billy to meet secretly! Needless to say, June's choice signaled the end of the Three Musketeers!
