Years ago, EG told me that when people die it is not just the loss of their company we mourn, but the loss of the self we were with them.

Every moment spent with someone is a memory created, one that you can call up together in the future to remind you both of who you used to be. Lose that person and the memory fades, frayed by the lack of mutual reinforcement. If you think about friendship in these terms every moment you spend with the people you love takes on a new meaning: spending time with people is a risky business because their presence or absence in the future will contribute to who you become and who you think you were.

• And with that in mind I’m just going to go ahead and say that the week I spent road tripping with EG was a memory worth the risk. I want her there when I am old and if I lose her, I want to lose some of myself as well.