Most of the trip to San Diego can be gleaned from the entries shared by Radiogurl, Poolagirl, Wild Rosie, Bucket, but there were a few more precious ones to share.
Like Poola�s face when she found out Gabriel�s true identity. Eyes wide, mouth dropped open she looked at his picture and gasped, �Why, that�s�..�
And Friday night, after the play, when Radiogurl, WildRosie, Queen of Rats, Poola and I gathered at The Old Sod for a celebratory drink � or two � or so (ahem). It was 20-something loud, and louder still from the musical stylings of some unknown mid-aged fellow and his electric guitar.
Conversation ebbed and flowed � mostly shouted into one ear or another and sometimes between people like playing telephone when you were a kid.
I suppose one might think I actually drink (after all the entries from the other co-conspirators this weekend) but, in fact, I probably have fewer than a half dozen drinks a year � a Black & Tan on a hot summer night, or a glass of wine with a fine dinner. However � on my SECOND Black & Tan (courtesy of Rosie), conversation came round to how daughters somehow turn from children to angry teens to best friends.
And, while the other merry makers may be too shy to tell you of what we talked � this is not a PG site. So, in keeping with what constitutes a best friend moment, I regaled the girls with a tale about the time Morgan called me for detailed instructions in one of my well-known, gold-star techniques. And I later found out her boyfriend was right there with her, and she immediately practiced what I preached.
Yes, darlings, we talked about BJ techniques. In a bar. Loudly. Surrounded by dozen of young well-built men. And aside from the fact that women can�t talk without using their hands (as most of you know), I can only imagine we raised more than one eyebrow as WildRosie used visual aids to describe (with appropriate embellishments) a particularly difficult movement.
The revelry ended around 3 am.
Saturday night, being exhausted, we stayed in to catch up with Bucketwho could not join us the night before. Keeping with my no drinking personality I only drank one of the bottles of wine. Bucket had the other. And I discovered in short order what a warm, cuddly, extraordinary individual she is. She has an old soul and a big heart.
I learned something else interesting this weekend. You meet strangers all the time. Sometimes these are strangers you have talked to on the phone, or exchanged emails or even IMs � some business, some personal � but meeting them still feels like meeting a stranger. But when we Diarylanders got together we weren�t strangers. We were already best friends � like college sorority sisters coming home for a 5-year reunion. These people held my hand as I cried inconsolably and pretended not to notice when I had a particularly sad moment thinking of Gabriel who would so have loved being there with us. They laughed and ran and jumped and bounced. They hugged tightly and real and warmly, and kissed me passionately when I left � promising to get together again as soon as possible.
These were my friends before, and my best friends after.
And I am left to ponder this. My connection to Gabriel is already on a level deeper than anything I�ve ever experienced. Whether we meet today, tomorrow, next month, or a year from now will not change how we feel. Like the friendship with these wonderful women � we are already there. So, don�t worry about our future dear ones, we�ll be ok. Because despite everything going on in his life he tells me every day that he loves me.
And that�s forever and always.
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