I have found a long-lost friend!

Last May I dreamed of a friend I'd lost track of. We'd been pals when we were in our teens.

I considered writing his name on a piece of paper, tucking it into the corner of the bathroom mirror so that I’d see it each day, and seeing if he or his whereabouts might manifest. This would have been a simple enough bit of magic to attempt, but I never did, not even to test and disprove it in my semi-sceptical way.

Last week a high school acquaintance invited me to the city, where a mutual friend from Edmonton is coming on business this weekend. My presence was to be a surprise.

I was reminded of my old buddy who used to live in the same city, and wondered if I'd ever see him again.

When I phoned yesterday and told our little party planner that I wouldn’t make it, she spilled the beans.

“Do you remember G.P.?” she asked me.

“Sure,” I said. “I didn’t know you knew him.”

“I didn’t,” she said, “back then. But he’s my next-door neighbour, and when I mentioned what school I went to, he asked if I knew you.”

Her heinous plan was to have him saunter over and surprise me.

I’d have been surprised, all right, and in a good way.

In the midst of happiness, disappointment. Thrilling surprises are few and far between.