A Day at the Races

Memories and Motherhood

“I can remember a gorgeous autumn night…I sat across from Chrissie and she gave me that look of why the hell are you talking me into this?” I looked over to Roger.

 “And I can remember bein’ backstage at the bar at the time and listenin’ to Brian…he kept sayin’ I’m meetin’ this girl tonight. It’s Lydia’s friend. I’m not good with meetin’ people, Roger. I’m not good with it.” Roger looked back to me.

 “Well, we don’t want to bore you with details except that Chrissie here nearly lost her mind and her heart over this one here.” I dug my hand into the top of Brian’s hair.

 “Lyd just wanted Chrissie to meet him, hell, she didn’t realize she’d marry the guy! I’m fairly confident ” Roger put a hand on Chrissie’s shoulder. She had effectively turned a beautiful pink color.

 “As you can see, it’s not at all difficult to embarrass either of these two. Roger and I aren’t even into the good stuff yet! You hang around them for as long as we have and you’re bound to amass the stories. I want to personally share my favorite memory of Chrissie and Brian. It was New Years’ Day a few years back.” I looked to both Chrissie and Brian. “Myself, Roger, these two, and our friends Veronica and John, Freddie and Mary…those are the ones setting over there….hey you four! Anyway, we all sat at a diner having the most lovely brunch. Roger and I were in bad shape but I couldn’t help but watch these two right here. I feel very confident that they were already in love that fantastic New Years’ Day. I will never forget that.” I smiled at them, raising my glass in the air.

 “I uh, I talked to Lyd a long time before decidin’ what I was gonna’ tell. And Lyd kept wantin’ me to tell you all about one of the most embarrassing moments with these two…and oh…we got a lot of dirt on these two.” Roger shook his head. “A lot. I could talk about things for hours but I’m gonna’ keep it classy.” Roger looked to me and winked. I couldn’t help but smile him. “I’m mainly doin’ that cause Lyd took the good one about the bar and also because none of this  stuff we’re talkin’ about is what I wrote down on this stupid piece of paper to toast you two with.” Roger turned around and faced Brian and Chrissie.

 “Blame Lyd for that, not me. “Okay…okay, anyway…I remember bein’ at Ridge Farm a few summers ago and Brian took out his guitar one night around a bonfire and we all sang together. It was….it was a really great night, that night was. Well, I looked up for a split second and Chrissie has this…this…hold on, I gotta’ do this impression just right…” Roger cleared his throat and his voice tore into the microphone in it’s ridiculously high register…‘oh my goooooooood I’m with a rockstar….I’M. WITH. A. ROCK. STAR. GOOOOOOOOOOOD! AAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!’ Roger concluded. “Yeah…yeah it was a lot like that. “It was funny at the time because…we weren’t stars…really. But Chrissie ate it right up. So, I guess my point is that she has been a huge fan of Brian when he didn’t have any fans ‘cept for his mum and dad over there. Hi Mays’! Lyd and I…we like you two an awful lot. Brian, you’ve ben around for me in times when I really needed someone around. Chrissie, stay sweet...just stay sweet.” Roger raised his glass to them as the rest of the guests clapped. He took me in his free arm, kissing me before we each finished off our champagne. The sun was beginning to dip lower and lower over the farm. The horses were being put away for the evening and the geese were honking on the ponds in the distance. I leaned back in my chair with my empty champagne flute, taking it all in…the breeze of late springtime, the smell of the farm, the sound of the horses Winnie-ing as they were walked across the pastures, the feeling of Roger’s soft velvet brushing against me, and the sight of Brian’s smile plastered across his face…this was so wonderful.  The band had only recently begun their set list as dinner was being served.

 Neither Brian nor Chrissie got to eat much as they were so bombarded with guests and well wishes. And furthermore, they couldn’t stop gushing over one another. Roger and I didn’t eat a thing. We went straight from the toast to the massive table of gifts because we needed to make them a list of who the hell brought what. This was like a freakin’ birthday party on steroids. The long table, piled high with cards and neatly wrapped packages appeared to be a daunting task but roger and I had a plan. I would find the names and he would write it down.