I started stirring around, getting ready to go, and doing a few last minute things on the house. Fran called to say she would be late, so I went ahead and dusted the desk. For some reason I always do this as an absolute last resort, but I’m always relieved when it’s done. I also got out a nice cream pitcher and sugar bowl (since we were having coffee at the house this morning), along with some cloth napkins, depression glass plates, etc. I haven’t had people in for ages, and it was nice to put on the dog a bit.
Fran came in with muffins and smoothies, and we had a nice little breakfast on the porch, chattering away happily. I showed her some of my glass, and cut her a CD with some songs we had talked about the night before.
Before long though, it was time to get on the road if we wanted to make finds! We headed for Anderson. Fran’s a junk shopper, like I am, so she was in her element. We had a great time looking at everything and the people that were there, and finished catching up on things we wanted to talk about. She got some hairspray that she told me is usually very expensive, and a silver filigree box lined in red plush that was very pretty. I bought a berry bowl that was in excellent shape.
Ring, or "Banded Rings" tab-handled 5" berry bowl in green by Hocking Glass Company, circa 1927-1933 - according to Gene Florence this was part of a berry bowl set offered originally in a magazine called Country Gentlemen in the 1930's. He theorizes that this faulty advertising decision led to the scarcity of berry bowls in this pattern :)
When we got home, I put it in to soak, and she headed back for North Carolina. Her 80 year old father (!!) was watching the kids, one of whom is 3, and she was anxious to get back to them, for which I couldn’t blame her.
I lazed around the house for a bit, ate the leftover lobster thermidor for lunch, and got in a nap.
Then I called B to talk about our date. We decided to go to Red Lobster, both because that is his favorite restaurant (yeah), and because we could smoke at the table, which was a big consideration for him. After we got off the phone, I was kinda nonplussed about going, but he is a nice guy, I reminded myself.
I eventually got ready, and stopped to get cat food on the way. I didn’t recognize him when I first walked up. Russ had given him a new haircut, and he was wearing sunglasses. His hair did look good though. I was about 5 minutes late. He was worried and getting ready to call me to find out where I was.
There was a wait, of course. There is always a wait at Red Lobster on Saturday night. There are a lot of senior citizens to feed in Greenville. We went on in and got drinks, and then were seated almost immediately after ordering them. The food there is OK – they make a big deal out of the fact that they don’t freeze their seafood any longer. When we sat down, I realized why he wanted to sit somewhere he could smoke. He had a cigarette when they put the cheese biscuits down before he ate one and another when they served the salad before he ate that. When they brought out the entrees he did stub out.
My food wasn’t very good, but it was kind of my fault, I guess. I wanted scampi over pasta, which wasn’t on the menu. It was pretty bland and tasteless – there wasn’t enough sauce on the scampi for the pasta. It was also served with the tails on. It’s hard to get the tails off broiled shrimp, and by the time I got done I had butter and garlic up to the elbows (it felt like), and splattered on my shirt. No napkin is really going to stand up to that. So I could have ordered better. Plus I had just eaten a fantastic meal last night (and indeed the rest of it today), so Red Lobster was just bound not to stack up.
Conversation, as the meal went on, became more stilted. It basically just degenerated into a type of interrogation. He asked me a series of questions about peripheral details of my life. I also found out about the ex. Turns out I was pretty much right on the money about his continued involvement. I did as – so it was partly my fault – but I got a blow-by-blow of their latest round, and pretty much confirmed that he wouldn’t have gone out with me if he wasn’t mad at the ex.
When dinner was over, I was going to just politely excuse myself and head over to Miss Kat and dana’s. They had invited me over. But B wanted to go to the bar. I really, really hate to go to the bar, particularly on a date. I tried to get out of it gracefully, but basically he asked until I was uncomfortable saying no again. It turns out he was meeting a friend of his there that night. I finally agreed to go over there with him for a drink, and to meet his friend.
I called Miss Kat in the car to see if I could come over afterwards, and she was pretty reluctant, but said I could come. I figured out the time frame then, and realized that there was no way I was going to get out of there before 9:30. Miss Kat and dana generally go to bed between 10 and 11. I called back, talked to dana, and told them I wouldn’t keep them up.
We got to the bar. It was interesting to see the latest incarnation of the 621. It has been gay, straight, gay, straight, and is now gay again. It brought back memories. I worked there for a while when I was in college, and it was my favorite bar when I first came out. I spent many fun evenings there. Twenty years ago. Turns out not much has changed. I ran into a guy I used to date back in the day. I waved at him. When we went outside (you can’t smoke inside bars any more, since I last went out) he and a friend came outside and joined us at our table. B knew him too. They proceeded to engage in the same inane bar chat bibble-babble they have no doubt been having for the last 20 years. Turns out it’s like a soap opera. You can take as long a break as you want, and when you tune back in the same shit is going on.
I finished my drink, and went inside to meet B’s friend, who was nice. But I was SO ready to get out of the bar. It just exacerbated my feeling that I’ve been having lately that I’m not getting anywhere. Right now I feel like I’ve just been walking in a big emotional circle, never making any progress.
I went on home, and turned on the computer. I chatted for a while in Bear411, and thought I might fall into the Manhunt vortex, but didn’t. I did end up having a conversation with a nice enough guy who lives in Asheville. He is seriously warm for my form. I finally told him that was great and all, but I’d like to talk about other things too, which we did. He says he’s coming down tomorrow. We’ll see.
I also talked to a guy on Bear411 named Dan. He lives in Asheville also, and I talked to him a good bit for a while, but kind of tapered off. He's a really sweet guy, and I think too sweet for me. I'd probably send him screaming into the night. Plus he's a workaholic, and I've kind of done that already. He tells me that he's changing things to have more time for himself, but he's pretty much been telling me that from the beginning, and it hasn't happened. Once again, we'll see. It was good to talk to him. He's so sweet, he kind of restores my faith in men in general. After tonight, frankly, I was in need of some bucking up.
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