Mar 30, 2009 00:43
I met some old friends from the Luciani Club for lunch on Saturday afternoon. I haven't seen them in about 12 years.
Karen: Nice girl, very outgoing - she was visiting from Calgary (most of us live in BC)
Dan and Nancy (married for nearly 20 years) Dan was the hideous guy I had gone out with when I was young and stupid. Nancy is okay, but not as much fun as she used to be. But I cut her some slack -- she's a busy mom of four. ;)
And Catherine -- their 18-year-old daughter. Very sweet girl. I enjoyed meeting her. And she was a good buffer. ;)
I was absolutely dreading seeing them. I wanted to see Karen, then I read in her Facebook that Dan had written that their weekend was free after all and maybe they'd come with us.
I wasn't thrilled by them 'surprising' me. Luckily, Dan called and told me, so I was able to be gracious and say, "Sure. Why not?" instead of being ambushed.
We all met at the mall and had lunch in the food court. My idea, so everyone could have whatever they wanted. We sat around this small round table huddled over mall food, catching up on mutual acquaintances and each other. I was able to relax, talking to Catherine, asking her about her impending grad ceremony. The women (Nancy and Karen) talked about the holy rollers we knew in the club. Three couples have divorced. A very religious wife had cheated on her husband and gave birth to another man's son. One couple had 7 or 8 kids. Yikes!
I blurted, "What are they, Mormon?" (no offense to any Mormons out there - I was just surprised by the number)
Dan chuckled and said, "No, they're Catholic."
We had a pleasant afternoon. I walked them to the parkade before we separated. Before that, Catherine saw a dress shop and wanted to look at prom dresses. She found one she absolutely loved, and she looked terrific in it. It was $229, but they bought it on the condition that she wear it more than once -- she would have to go to the dinner as well as the formal dance. And there was a ticket price of $90 to go on a boat cruise (after-grad).
There was a cute little dog roaming the store (belonged to the store's owner). I petted her while the others talked about the dress, though I piped up with suggestions to help Catherine get it (she pays half - they match her, use a lay-away plan, let her younger sister wear it when she graduates in a couple of years).
I know this sounds mean, and I'm only saying it here.
I think this was therapeutic -- imagine this: This big hulking fat toad is sitting in the middle of a fancy dress store surrounded by tulle, lace and taffeta. It's the classic male nightmare. I was enjoying it immensely. He looked too damned funny. I just couldn't hate him anymore. He was so incongruous with all the girly stuff that I kinda felt sorry for him. I offered to hold Catherine's coat and bag.
"Hey, I could hold her crap for you if you want to check out Radio Shack." He declined, as he had to be around to discuss whether to buy the dress.
Catherine waffled a bit, thinking she should wait and show her boyfriend first. I snorted and told her, "Who's wearing it, you or him?" I just can't stand women who need that kind of approval, especially a teenaged girl.