In Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” Buddy is separated from his friend when the adults decide it would be best for him to attend military school. The unidentified adults, under the guise of doing what is best for Buddy, send him off to both military school and summer camps.

Life separates us. Those who Know Best decide that I belong in a military school. And so follows a miserable succession of bugle-blowing prisons, grim reveille-ridden summer camps. I have a new home too. But it doesn't count. Home is where my friend is, and there I never go.

In essence, Buddy and his friend are separated physically, but remain connected emotionally because they frequently exchange letters with each other. Buddy’s friend shares stories of home and of Queenie, the dog. As his friend ages she confuses Buddy with her old friend who passed away years before their friendship began. Her old friend was also called Buddy, and her written thoughts become muddled between the two friends. One day at military school Buddy receives word of her death and that is when he realizes the two are apart forever.