Tonight I was stood up by a friend. I had received an email about live Brazilian music at a downtown club and had asked three people if they would like to join me. Two said no, one said yes. We made plans to meet at 8, and I confirmed--thrice--by leaving messages on her home phone and cell.
I got to the club about 8:15. It was just me and the bartender, so I ordered a club soda and lime. I nursed it for 40 minutes while the band members straggled in. They weren’t going to start playing for another hour, so I gazed at the flatscreen and the colored lights behind the liquor bottles, then walked out.
I go out so seldom. It’s so hard to find someone who doesn’t have a wife, husband, boyfriend, or girlfriend who is taking all his or her time. Once in a while, a single friend is available, but not very often.
I called her home and cell this morning, saying that I hope she is OK and that when she is able, give me a call to let me know she's out of the hospital or whatever prevented her from showing up or calling. Of course, it's possible that she was injured or violently ill, but I suspect she just blew me off. Or maybe someone asked her out, and she didn't think to call me. And now she's embarrassed to call.
I've been stood up so many times in my life that I was not upset. It was nice just to go out into the world and see what people with wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, or--miracle of miracles—friends do on a Friday night in Long Beach.
I wandered the streets for a while after leaving the club. A salesclerk at an interior design store was very welcoming, and I’m thankful for the pleasant interchange I had with her. Sometimes we have to get from strangers what friends are not ready, willing, or able to give.
Mystical experiences, yearnings, politics, little dramas, poetry, kidney dialysis, insulin-dependent diabetes, and opportunities for gratitude.
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About Me
- Heidi's heart
- Southern California, United States
- Perhaps my friend Mark summed me up best when he called me "a mystical grammarian." I am quite a mix--otherworldly, ethereal and in touch with "the beyond," yet prone to being very precise and logical, when need be. Romantic in the big-canvas meaning of the word, I see the world as an adventure, as a love poem, as a realm of beauty and wonder.
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5 comments:
I am so sorry you were stood up. How rude. I wish I were more available to spend time with you. I want to and hope to soon. I spent the weekend moving storage from the garage of the place where I just moved and am renting a room to the garage of my landlord's other place in Rosemead. I had never been to Rosemead before and did not realize it was so far away. I strained my back lifting boxes of books and tiles for the mosaic art I rarely find time to do. And I still have other things to move out there. Uggh. Today I ran to church (the Unitarian church on Atherton) and then did some errands, laundry and a trip to two hardware stores that ended up convincing me I need something different than what I was looking for. After spending a few hours cutting one of my dog's hair, I did see an excellent movie last night that I had gotten from Netflix about three weeks ago. It is called The World's Fastest Indian and it is so wonderful. I highly recommend it. Time to wash the dogs!
Alexi, that's so cool that you do tile work. I was just yesterday telling my son about a lovely country manor I had stayed at in Quebec. The owners were master tilesmen, having decorated each of the rooms with tiles of a different theme--Egyptian, Mediterranean, garden. Tile work is so beautiful!
Doesn't sound like much of a friend, especially if he/she could not return your call.
Heidi, maybe one day you and I could plan a day to work on a mosaic flower pot to give as gifts this holiday season. I would love your company in what is usually solitary work. And maybe you could introduce me to the Albinoni adagios you are so fond of at the same time!
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