A Magic Carpet, three friends, and a Yetti

An Awkward Dinner

        While getting ready for dinner, I came upon the advertisement for the play I decided I wanted to see. Studying the flier i noticed the picture of the main character looked vaguely familiar. I knew I had seen him somewhere before, I just couldn't place where. Since I knew he wasn't anyone from home, I figured he must have just been someone I passed by on the street of something. Then, it hit me. The guy on the front was the one I ran smack into this morning!

      I struggle for a name. Something with a J, I think, or was I an R? It started with some letter from the alphabet. John? No, that doesn't sound right. Joey? Still wrong. Maybe it was Roy or Ralphie. Still doesn't sound right.  Accepting defeat I decide to go ask Kimmy what his name was.

     Five mintues, searching in vain, and I still can't find Kimmy anywhere that I would expect her. Jessi seems to be missing as well. Where could they have disappeard to, I wonder. I mentally check off everywhere I have checked. They weren't in our room for starters. Neither were they in they getting ice from the dispenser in the hall, or in the game room. I couldn't find them in the sanck room, which was a good thing, since we were going to dinner soon. Crap, I know where they are! I grab my coat and purse, checking to make sure I didn't leave my drivers liscense, and ran out of the room to the car.

     Sure enough, when I got down stairs I found the two of them standing by the door looking just a little more than slightly annoyed. Here come the lectures. I brace myself as I walk over to them. "Hey, you guys we should get going before were late." I continue before they get a chance to answer. "You can yell at me on the way there." I'm already out the door before they even start moving. Unlocking the drivers door I hop in and buckle up; the two of them quickly following suit.

     The moment I put the car into drive Jessi pounces. "Mae, what took you so long? We were waiting for thirty minutes and you wouldn't answer your phone!" She scolds. My phone? Oh yeah, I had completely forgotten about it. Note to self: before you go looking for your friends text or call them. Note two: find your phone tonight.

      I take a considerable amount of time before answering, hoping to get there before she can finish her lecture on being punctual and keeping track of my phone. Being to lazy to remember the directions to the restaurant Kimmy's uncle invited us to I type the address into the GPS, killing even more time. Glancing into the rear view mirror, Jessi opens her mouth to say something else. I beat her to the punch, "Why didn't you two just wait a minute I was almost done getting ready!" I start, my voice eerily calm. " I went to the bathroom, came out and you two were just gone. Like Poof! I decided to go look for you. I will admit I forgot about the dinner tonight and I could try to keep better track of my phone, but you still should have let me know you were going to wait down stairs so I didn't wast a bunch of time looking for you two everywhere in the freaking hotel. For all I knew you could have been kidnapped by vampires with sparkly pale skin and enchanting eyes that made you fall in love and get married to them and forget all about your former life and me." I finish in a mock pout.

   A silence, balanced somewhere between awkward and weird, follows my rant. Behind me Jessi starts choking to keep from laughing. Before we knew it all three of us were cracking up at my terrible joke. It wasn't even so much that it was funny as that it was such a pathetic joke. Because, come on, the three of us are about as anti-vampire as a person could get. Not necessarily the idea of them existing, but more so the romance that so many people attempt to write about them.

     By the time we have settled our lunatic laugh- bring it down to a mildly insane person laugh- we've arrived at the restaurant, Flos (The Flower). As I take in the small plaza I freeze in my tracks, all my laughing halted. I didn't stop because of how beautiful it was, and believe my when i say it was spectacular. I halted because, of the person on the far side of the plaza sitting next to Uncle Scott and Dr. Ralfin. I mentally pat myself on the back for remembering to call him by his last name, even though I'm just as shocked that he's there. I grab both Kimmy's and Jessi's hands and squeeze them reassuringly. Sitting right at our table is someone the three of us haven't seen in forever and a day and never expected to see ever again when they moved away.