I got up and started my toilette and packing food. About the time I started loading the car, I called Rhonda, who sounded vaguely flustered that she wasn't ready. She had been taking her time because she expected me to be later. I told her we were in no rush. On the way out, I had an unpleasant portentous event. I've had a bad premonition about this trip I've been trying to shake. As I pulled off of my street, a black car with black rims pulled in opposite. The license plate was a custom tag that said DEATH. That can't be right, I thought. When I did a double-take, it was a regular tag. It kinda freaked me a little bit.
I got to Rhonda's house around 11 or so and loaded up her stuff. She had brought a bunch of little bags of food and stuff. Which was fine, but didn't bode well for unloading. We took our time on the drive down. I had given up coffee to get on the road more quickly this morning, so I stopped and got a cup on the way out of town. Russ invited us over to their place, but since they hadn't even packed yet and were on the road, we went on.
We stopped on Lavonia, GA at one of my favorite antique places - 11,000 square feet (!!) of stuff to root through. I found a little present for Amanda (I try to keep something in reserve for her - her birthday always sneaks up on me), a small piece Justin had been looking for, and something for his birthday, or housewarming, or whatever. I got two of my bubble bread plates just because I found them there. There was a good bit of bubble glass to be found, but unfortunately for me most of it was clear. I also bought Rhonda a little lavender prayer/wish box with peace symbols on it. I had never seen one that wasn't religious.
They had two pieces I would really have loved to have bought - a Cameo juice pitcher, and an ice bucket in the same pattern. Both really pretty and unusual pieces, and both in great shape; but not cheap. I figured since I was headed to Atlanta I would probably spend a good amount of money this weekend, so I didn't get either.
We stopped for lunch after we got through Commerce, and had a delicious Mexican lunch. I tried a new hot sauce that I really liked.
We got into Atlanta about 3:30, and for Atlanta the traffic wasn't horrible but I was surprised at how busy it was that early in the afternoon. We had to go through downtown to get to the hotel though. When we got to the hotel, we basically drove into bedlam. There were bunches of people trying to check in, trying to get a bellman, trying to get registered. The lines were ubiquitous, as were the piles of stuff. Kink play just doesn't lend itself to traveling light.
We got checked in faster than I thought we would, and registration was very fast. Then we contemplated getting all the stuff to the room. Eventually just decided we would carry it up. That proved to be a struggle, but we got most of it up in one painfully slow trip, dribbling foodstuffs out of the myriad of bags and then doubling back to get them, and shaking up the sodas in the process.
When we got to the room, I unpacked and put my bags away. Rhonda was bringing up the rear, and I was almost done by the time she got there. My sweet little Rhonda, who usually travels pretty light, had apparently brought most of her wardrobe:
Rhonda and her big ole pile o' clothes. Keep in mind we're only going to be here for four days - counting today.That was OK though, we had room for it, and all the clothes were in one suitcase, unbelievably. It was just so out of character for Rhonda that I had to laugh.
We were getting settled in when we heard from Petal and Marty. We had already seen them in the lobby. They were staying at the hotel across the street, and were making a Wal-Mart run. I cadged a ride off of them. First because it would be more fun to go with them anyway, and second because we got one of the last parking places in front of the hotel. I had been warned that if I moved my car, I would have great difficulty finding another parking place.
So the trip to Wal-Mart was fun. We rode there in P&M's spanking new Prius, which was quite fancy and put Gracine (almost) to shame. We found most of what we wanted, although I had to buy two heads of celery, and there was an inexplicable total lack of sugar snap peas.
We got back to the hotel just as the boys got in, and made arrangements to go to the "Pimp Cup" craft room with them. The con brings in cups, attendees decorate them, and they are then given out in the prize baskets for the various events. The problem was that there was no one in the room when we got there. There were no cups or anything. Finally one of the guys who had been there before went and rounded up the cups and some paint and stickers, and we got to work.
Rhonda turned to me and said "Is that Mariah?", inclining her head to a woman seated to her left. Unbelievably, it was! Mariah is Rhonda's ex Jaimie's ex. Convoluted. To make matters worse, Mariah is borderline unstable, and sent some really, really
When she realized who we were, she overflowed with apologies to Russ, Billy, and Rhonda; and began to deluge poor Rhonda with a series of horrible snapshots of her life. I had no idea what to do. I suppose we could have left, but that would have seemed rude, and there was really no way to pry her off of the group (there were only about 6-8 of us in the room, working around a table). I am ashamed to say I just kind of shut down, put my head down, and kept painting on my cup. Rhonda, bless her, took it all with an abundance of grace and patience. Eventually, we finished our cups and escaped.
We went down to the dungeon for a while, partially because the guys were dungeon monitors tonight. There was a play party going on, and there were some hot scenes. There was one very tender scene between a couple that I enjoyed watching, and there were two really good looking guys doing an elaborate scene that was very hot. They came in and started setting up in costume (one in an orange prison jumpsuit, and the other dressed as a correctional officer). Now generally when I play I just don't do elaborate costumes, but it was a great scene that involved percussive play, electricity, and breath play. It was a sexy thing to watch. I tried not to stare at them too much. There was another guy getting worked over by his Domme and he was very easy on the eyes as well. He would hang from the cross and wrap his legs around her waist as she stood behind him, which I thought was very sexy. He had a nice cock too, which certainly didn't hurt. There was a lot of eye candy going on. It was killing me because there were three horses open, and I couldn't play. Dammit!!
But it was the first night, and I was kind of pooped from the day. This is the first real trip I've made since treatment ended, and although I feel pretty good, I still wear out fairly easily. The surprises of the day weren't over yet though.
My friend/mentor/adored one Myz Shea was there this weekend. I had sent her a text earlier, and ran into her outside tonight. Jaimie was with her. I knew that this was probably going to happen this weekend, but really didn't know how I would react. It had been years since I had seen Jaimie. I did hear from her before she moved back from Nevada, and had to sort through my feelings and send her a very difficult email. She sent me a nice card and some tea while I was in treatment anyway.
Jaimie is someone who used to be very special to me. We were very close. She was there for the beginning of my leather journey, and helped shape my feelings about what it means to be Leather. When she left though, she really screwed Rhonda over, and took advantage of and hurt many people that I love deeply. Although she didn't do anything to me, after seeing the fallout and the damage she has done, I just can't feel the same way about her any more. She betrayed so many of the tenets that she taught me. She is not someone that I can have in my life right now. I talked to MS for a while, and then acknowledged J's presence. I gave her a hug, but didn't engage. I don't hate her. It's very confusing and conflicted.
That was pretty much the final straw for me. I was wiped anyway. I went up and went to bed. It's been a good day in many ways, but it's been a draining one too.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment