Friendly Endearments

My buddy Michael is an odd guy; he’s engaged to his “la hermosa”, namely Jenny, and seems to never look at another girl (other than Denise Richards, but then, who doesn’t?). But he has this thing with endearments. I’m unconfortable with my best friends calling me names like “deary” or “honey”, but Michael takes the cake.

I’m sitting in Calculus, just before the final bell, on the day after Christmas break. I’m barely awake (see my entry “Ugh. Is it morning already?”) and just waiting. All of a sudden, I hear a voice in my ear saying “Hello, precious..” and my much belated gift is passed over my shoulder. “Precious”? Whoa.

When are endearments appropriate, and when are they not? I dunno. Jenny’s outburst a couple of months ago (“Why don’t you ever pay attention to me any more? It’s always Melissa and your computers and your websites” or something to that effect, in a large, crowded room), made me feel like a creep for daring to take time away from their Michael-and-Jenny-ness to be a friend to Michael (evenif I was mostly just helping him with his problems). Surely Jenny doesn’t see me as competition… Not bloody likely.

But you would think he would less… friendly, I dunno, after such an outburst, for fear of upsetting Jenny. But no, mere months later, he invents the term “precious” for me. I don’t think he calls Mia precious or some other…nickname. Is it just me, or that a really personal endearment? Or am I just making too much of it, as I am wont to do with such things?