Their relationship wasn't difficult to understand, but the older of the two men found himself thinking about it more often than not. Over the years, the friendship had come to mean so much to him that he feared losing it more than any other friendship.
"Have you ever seen the plants that cashews come from?" Jack asked.
Seemingly innocuous questions such as these were a normal part of their daily conversations. Stan rarely knew the answers, nor how to respond.
"Yeah, sure I have," Stan lied. "I love cashews."
"What do they look like?" Jack continued to press.
Stan's eyes rolled back and to the side as he found himself caught in yet another pointless lie. He did not want his friend to think him ignorant, though that reality seemed all but avoidable now.
"If I remember correctly, they look a lot like peanut plants."
"No," Jack curtly responded back to his friend. "If you had ever seen a cashew plant, you would definitely have remembered what they look like."
Stan waited for his friend to continue, but a long minute of silence indicated that the wait would be in vain. Several options ran through his head as he realized that Jack was starring his way, expecting a response. He could either ask what the stupid plant looked like or continue down the ruse of excuses as to why he might not be able to remember.
"Nothing?" Jack asked, interrupting the silence.
"No, I guess you're right, I've never seen a cashew plant."
"They actually grow on trees," Jack smiled wickedly. "Part of the plant is poisonous."
Stan hung his head, defeated. Jack, the friend that he loved so dearly, now knows how deep his ignorance truly goes. Stan vowed, right then and there, to never eat another cashew for so long as he shall live.
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