Tonight was the last Wednesday of the Month drinks at the club, for which there had been a good response on the invite so far, and I had high hopes of a good turnout. Additionally, my friend Caroline had been complaining that she wasn't meeting enough tall, single men, so I invited her to come along in case she might meet some.
Since I was officially the "host" of the evening, I arrived at the O&C right at 6:30 PM, and immediately ran into the Wild Welshman just as I was coming up the stairs, which gave me a big smile as he enthusiastically greeted me. He said he would join me in a moment once he'd hung up his coat, so I went to the bar and got him a pint along with my own drink. When he arrived to find his drink ready and waiting, he gave me a big smile and a kiss.
We sat down to chat, at which point he told me that he'll be off to Berlin in March for six months. I was incredibly thrilled for him, and while I will miss him, am sure that he will visit and perhaps I will visit him, and six months will pass in a flash. It will be a great experience and Berlin is a fantastic city, he is sure to have an excellent time there.
As we were sitting at a table in the bar, we found ourselves joined by TK (whose company I always enjoy) and his friend John, as they had just finished playing a game of squash. An older guy from the General Committee joined us, along with a woman named Nicola who also seemed to be about his age (which he revealled to be 39). So you can imagine my surprise when that revealtion prompted people to go around the table revealling ages, and she claimed to be 32. I was shocked, and desperately hope I don't look that old...
More and more people started arriving, until there were too many of us for the chairs available in the bar. So I moved the crowds to the Upper Drawing Room, but made sure to keep returning to the bar to check for stragglers. It was on one of these return trips that Caroline arrived, so I was able to take her with me on my next return to the Upper Drawing Room and introduce her to a few people. She seemed to hit it off well with Kerty, a chap I know through Doro, and so I left them to chatting.
The Wild Welshman had departed a bit earlier to have a quick drink with a friend nearby who was going out to the theatre, and he now returned with a bottle of wine in hand to top off my glass. He'd apparently gotten a bottle because he assumed we'd share it with TK and his friend John, but they had disappeared. Which is then how the two of us ended up just chatting together all evening, splitting the bottle of wine and getting ourselves into quite a state. Even without the attraction between us anymore, I really like him as a friend, as he's always my favourite to talk to.
The Upper Drawing Room emptied out as some people decided to go for dinner, so those of us who remained retired back to the bar. As I was chatting to the Wild Welshman, Doro passed me a note, saying, "K wants to know C's relationship status". Which I then incredibly foolishly read aloud, as Doro shushed me. Whoops! As I said, I blame the Wild Welshman and his bottle of wine... But at least I was pleased to be able to report that Caroline was indeed quite single, as it had indeed been the purpose of this evening. So at least that was working out!
Finally as it got to about 9:30, people were heading out, so I suggested that Caroline and I head to the Cally, as they were also having Younger Member's drinks there that evening. I invited everyone else with us, and while you could tell that Kerty hadn't planned on going, he didn't want to leave Caroline. Alas, he'd already borrowed a tie from the front desk, so he didn't have a tie to go to the Cally with. Yet another friend in the group, Southworth, recognized what was going on here, and loaned Kerty his tie. So Kerty tied it on, I hailed a cab, and off we went.
When we got to the Cally, I led the group into the bar, where I was immediately greeted by the Young Scotsman, who wrapped me up into a very enthusiastic hug and kiss. I adore that boy for the way he so obviously adores me! He asked where the Wild Welshman was, and I had to confess that I hadn't been able to drag him out. When I relayed this info to the Wild Welshman the next morning, he promised he would come with me the next time!
There were quite a few familiar faces, including Piers, Will, and the Head of Inter-Club. I just got myself into the usual conversations, trying to ignore the fact that my feet were starting to hurt (the helpful effects of the wine wearing off), and I was quite tired. I kept hoping that the conversations would get more interesting, or that I'd at least get more of a chance to bask in the adoring company of the Young Scotsman. In the end, I suppose I was enjoying the company enough, as Caroline and Kerty made their apologies and left at midnight, while I stayed on until we all had to leave at 1 AM. The boys put me into a cab, and £17 later the cab driver dropped me off on Holland Road (NOT where I live) because he didn't know where to go. I got out anyway, rather than have him drive around and hike up the cab fare. It was only a few more blocks back to my place, and the cab trip had been mercy for my aching feet. Definitely bringing flats next time!
That would normally be the end of the evening (as it was now 1:30 AM), but when I signed online to quickly check my e-mail, I saw that my friend Shelley was online, so I called her to chat, and we ended up talking for 1.5 hours. I could tell that she's a bit frustrated with my dating life, as there are obviously so many boys out there who are attracted to me, but I just don't know what I want. I want to settle down in theory, but definitely not in practice. I told her that I was on the "Mariah Carey plan", where you get married suddenly and have babies at the last minute. I could tell that horrified her a bit, but also made her laugh. I guess we'll just have to see how it all works out. But she repeatedly said, "I can't believe that you, who would make a better mother than anybody I know, is single and childless while I'm the one who is married with a kid." I can understand where she's coming from, but I'm not quite sure what to tell her. I know my single status is somewhat my own fault, as I just can't quite give up all of this running around quite yet...
In the end, it was lovely to talk to her, but it wreaked havoc on my bedtime. Finally in bed at 4 AM!
No comments:
Post a Comment