my only friend, the end
Libby gets me and we drive to Minneapolis for lunch with Joe* and Alex and Nonoko*. At the last minute, we also invite Mark*, whom I haven’t seen in probably five years.
I see Nonoko right away. Alex is with her, and Townie is there too. I don’t really get to TALK to Noko, but seeing her hot self is good. I meet Ted (her boy) for the first time. He says that he feels really guilty about the way that he treated Bill long ago when they were roommates. I reassure him by saying that at the moment, I might put gross stuff in Bill’s bed too. I say this more because I know everyone will find it funny than because I really mean it. (I know how people expect me to feel about the whole situation. Sometimes it’s easier to just pretend.)
{Snip - Libby making me blush, our food, people being sore}
We talk about Mark “fending off some poon” and the conversation degrades into something about crapping on people’s chests. I think it was supposed to be a way to scare off the invading poon - a sort of pre-emptive strike against poon-nastiness, but I don’t really remember. Then Joe tells us who all is gay now.
Finally, we pay our bill and go out to smoke. {Snip} I thank Townie one last time for being such a damn good date, and check to make sure that he found his thank-you present. I snuggle my head into Joe’s neck, the way I always used to when I was stressed out or needing some love. Mark tells me that Seattle must be agreeing with me, because I look great. One by one, everyone has gone. I am trying to remember as much about everything as I can, but I know that it’s slipping.
Libby and I have some quality time over at her friend Karl’s, where she’s staying, and then she drives me to the airport. We listen to an Italian techno song about UFO’s that used to crack me up, long ago during a caffeine-addled road trip home from school. I am still processing - my head is reeling, and I can’t stop smiling.
We’re landing. I’m home.
* Joe - one of my dearest friends from my own college. We used to call him Big Gay Joe, even though as far as I know he doesn’t have any big gay animals.
* Nonoko - my first ever UNCO roommate. Took care of me when I was the only Ole surrounded by a whole houseful of Carleton theatre-types. Lives in San Fran with her hot boy, who (stupidly enough) used to be Bill’s roommate.
* Mark - yes, THAT Mark. I don’t know how to describe him. Whether or not he is a GOOD person is irrelevant to this story - he can be a really FUN person. We used to be friends.
thank you. After the last few days, that means a lot.
i know
i should have said this sooner
but better late than never
oh, and nena cried when she read what i’d written about you
so, yknow
she agrees
It’s fun to read it from the best seat in the house. Thanks for the recap… I’m all afterglowing!
*SMOOOOOOCH*
all in all
what this whole trip reminded me of
is that m’freesia is fearless
we were once too young and crazy to know what fearlessness meant
because when you’re that young
that innocent
you default to fearless
but as you age
and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune begin to cut you
and slow you down
you start to think that maybe you should be afraid of the dark
and the unknown that comes with it
and this is where m’freesia comes in
sometimes afraid of the world in front of her
but never living in fear of the world around her
the boldest of women
a woman not unlike the mother of my daughters
an aunt i hope my daughters will emulate
rounding them out as the last of the wild and fearless
beautiful
women