This is a story about a friend of mine.

Yea, I know. Every time someone says, "This is about a friend of mine," you automatically assume that he/she is talking about him/herself.

And sure, that's sometimes true. But this time it's not.

Really. It's not.

So stop looking at me like that and keep reading the ramble.

Okay. So this is a story about a friend who is afraid to fall in love, just like the title says.

"Could you ever see yourself hooking up with him?" I asked her one night. (Him being the friend at the core of this topic.)

She paused. "No, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I think he's afraid to get into a relationship."

"Oh really?"

"Yea, I think he's afraid to fall in love."

I took another swig of my beer and wrinkled my brow. "Why do you think that?"

"Well," she took a minute to formulate her answer, "he's not able to make commitments, he shies away from getting too deep into relationships, and…" she fumbled a cigarette out of a pack, "…he just seems afraid of it. You know?"

"If you're talking about what happened with him and his ex-girlfriend, then he's got a good reason for it." I waved my hands around for emphasis. (Tip from your Uncle Mike: always wave your hands around for emphasis when trying to make a point. Now back to the ramble.)

"Both of them knew he was going to move out of the country. It was never his plan to stay in the United States. Any relationship he had here could never work out."

She took a puff from her cigarette. I turned my head from the smoke and downed some more beer.

"Yea, maybe you're right." She stared at her beer. Her mind caught onto some fleeting thought she couldn't articulate. Our conversation drifted to other topics after that.

I could tell she didn't really agree with me. The logic of my friend's reasoning for avoiding love seems correct—since long-distance relationships rarely work out, why continue one (or start one) if you're going to move out of the country?

But on the other hand, what my female compatriot saw but didn't really say was that it's easy to make up an excuse for something you don't want to do, especially if you really don't want to do it.

Don't want to do the dishes? Break a few while you wash them. Chances are, your partner/guardian won't let you near them again.

Don't want to call your Mom up? Tell her that you work 100 hours a week the next time you see her at a family reunion. She'll be sad, but your excuse will cover your ass.

Don't want to do your homework? Coat your homework with ketchup and have your dog eat it. Literally. Then bring the remains to your teacher. Your teacher won't believe you and you'll probably fail and have to be stuck back a year or two, but at least you won't have to do that homework, right?

Hmmm. That last one was probably a bad example.

Though my friend had logical reasons for not getting into relationships right now, I am a strong believer that logic and love rarely mix.

However, he does have a point. Forces beyond his control (i.e. his family) were making him leave the country. There was no way he could stay. So why torture himself and his girlfriend with a long-distance relationship?

I can't say for sure that my friend is afraid of love. And even if he is, hell, who isn't?

Love is a BIG and scary four-letter word. Get bitten by the love-bug and *poof*! Life as you knew it will be over. Your mind, body, and heart turn into mush every time you come into contact with the object of your affection. And not everyone likes the idea of turning to mush.

So if he really is afraid of love, then he got away with it this time because his excuse seems pretty valid.

But excuses can't cover his ass forever. Sorry, but it's true; there's only so much ketchup you can use to coat your homework.

. . .

Are you afraid to fall in love?