C's birthday

I got this e-mail from G on Tuesday:

Hola! No time for proper response, please to forgive my briefs. The plan has somehow lost its simplicity -- it now seems that we three Birthday Bitches are each (if you're available and interested, that is) invited to have our own power-trip evening on our actual birthday days. You and I are bidden to join C & M tomorrow night for his birthday dinner at some fancy-pants eatery of his choosing. Saturday, I'll probably drag everyone to some cheap-ass local feeding hole, then back to my place to force M to watch "Fellowship of the Ring" or some such. And Monday, well, that'd be up to you, of course! (Café Fiore and a visit to "Willy Wonka", perhaps?)

None of this is set in stone yet, but it looks like that's the way things are leaning. For now, I'm just getting the invite for tomorrow evening out there, so you have at least a LITTLE advance warning. (As for gift, I'm trying to get ideas out of him, but if nothing good comes up, then you can just go in on whatever I end up getting him, which probably won't happen for a few weeks anyway -- we're kinda informal about that sort of stuff.)

I immediately wrote him back to say that was fine with me. He said he’d come get me on Wednesday night, so I e-mailed him directions to our apartment and that was that.

Anyway, when I got home from work yesterday, I took a short nap and then I got up and dusted/straightened up my room, which pretty much consisted of me shoving everything in my closet! Then I got dressed (sleeveless DKNY dress, high-heeled mary janes, Tiffany necklace), put on lipstick, mascara, and VIP Room, brushed my hair, and went downstairs to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

He was supposed to pick me up at 6:30, but there was no sign of him. Around 6:45, I began to get worried, and then he called me from C and M’s house to say that he had found our building, but he couldn’t find our apartment! The complex is laid out really strangely, so I wasn’t too surprised, but I felt terrible because I had completely forgotten about his foot. Anyway, he said they’d come pick us up, and they arrived a little after 7. M stayed in the car because she was in a no parking zone, but C came up with G, who had a toaster tucked under his arm. A housewarming gift for me…awwwww! I gave them a quick tour and introduced C to K, and then we were off.

C is one of those people who tries to please everyone, so when G asked where we were going for dinner, C said, “Oh, where would you guys like?” Finally, we decided on Mandeville, which is in Westlake Village. We ordered and then C opened his gifts (the new Beck CD and a Train CD) and card from G. It had a drawing of Gandalf on the outside, and it said “Gandalf wanted to wish you a very special birthday!” Inside, it said “Admit it, you got excited over that…you friggin’ geek.” G had written something like, “And then you started thinking about Gandalf bending you over and creating some magic with his flesh wand in your hidden portal. Anyway, happy birthday, pucker-muffin!” I swear, I almost pissed myself laughing.

I gave C a card and told him I’d gotten him a present, but it hadn’t arrived in the mail yet, which is actually true. I plan on giving him and M a gift bag meant for the two of them, since I didn’t get her anything and that’s hardly fair. But I figured I should give him the card on his actual birthday, and inside I wrote something about what a pleasure it’s been getting to know him and M over the past year, which is true.

“Thank you very much,” C said, looking genuinely touched. “We’ve enjoyed getting to know you too. I can’t believe it’s almost been a year! When’s the actual day?”

“Well, I guess it depends on whether you go by when we first started talking, or when we actually met,” I said. “If the former, it’s July 19th, and if it’s the latter, it’s August 28th.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. What are you guys going to do?” he asked, looking at G.

“Um,” G said, looking startled. “Never having been in this particular situation before, I’m not exactly sure! We’ll figure something good out.”

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Dinner was pretty good. I had filet mignon, and it came with bleu cheese crumbles that I immediately scraped off. G asked me to try a piece, so I did, and it was disgusting. It tasted like perfume! They all laughed at me as my face squinched up in horror and disgust. Then C and I had crème brulee for dessert, while M had peach ice cream and G abstained. We talked and laughed and it was just really nice.

After dinner, we went back to C and M’s and just talked and played with the cats. M went to bed around 11:30, and G and I left shortly thereafter. Even though he was exhausted and on crutches, he insisted on walking with me. I said, “But G, you’re not going to want to navigate those stairs again! Why don’t you just walk me to the stairwell and then I’ll go up by myself?”

“Yeah, but what if there’s a hobo under there waiting to grab your ankle?”

“I’ll wave to you from the walkway so you know I escaped being molested by a hobo. My front door’s right there, so I’m home free from that point.”

“Okay,” he said, and we hugged and kissed goodnight, and then I went upstairs and, as promised, waved to him. He nodded in lieu of a wave, since he had to hold onto his crutches, and then he limped away, my wonderful NS.