Moving Sweetheart and Caroline's Birthday

The birthday girl

I'd been debating with the Tall South African as to whether he should come down this weekend, and so in the morning he called to debate it with me again.  I rather suspected that he would be unable to resist temptation, and before too long he was telling me, "I'll be on the next train.  See you soon."

When he got into town, I made us both lunch, and then went to the post office to vote my absentee ballot.  Once that was safely in the post, we went to the Westfield mall to go clothes shopping for him for a bit.  He claims to like to have a girl to go shopping with to tell him what looks good and what doesn't, but what on earth do I know about men's fashion?  Every time I go shopping with a guy, I am just overwhelmed by the sea of grey, brown and black, it all seems so dull.  He was in a mood, not feeling attractive, but I really had no idea what might make things better.  I always try to reassure him that I think he's attractive, but it feels like empty praise, since our whole relationship is so platonic.

We then went for coffee, where for once when out with me he paid (but given that it was a £1.55 cup of tea, I didn't worry much about it).  We talked a bit about girls and boys, and I noticed that Sweetheart had the Giant Australian on his e-mail list.  I wondered if he would be at the moving party, and filled the Tall South African in on the background there.  I do rather regret missing that opportunity, and rather wonder what he is up to these days.

There was no time at this point to go home and change, so we went straight to Sweetheart's house, where we had promised we would help him pack for his upcoming move.  At the door, Sweetheart greeted me with his usual kiss on my lips, and then he went in for the Tall South African, which had me doubled over with laughter.  The Tall South African finally compromised by kissing Sweetheart on the cheek, and we went upstairs to his flat.

Once there, Sweetheart got us both some beers, and we sat around chatting in the kitchen until two more friends arrived, and then we set about packing boxes.  Now, I don't know too much about Sweetheart's background, except that he recently turned 40 and got divorced a few years ago.  And as we were packing things up, he showed us that he'd come across his old wedding album.  And what kind of killed me about it, was that it had seemed like such a happy day, they were one of those couples that were super in-love, everything about the ceremony was super-meaningful to them, and he still talked about it, even showing us the pictures, about what a great day it had been and how beautiful she looked that day.  I've never asked what went wrong, but it still kind of freaks me out, to think that this really nice guy could have been so in love and embarked on such a promising marriage, and yet it all went wrong.  How did that happen?  I don't know, you always imagine that there would have been some warning sign, some indication right back even at the wedding that things weren't right, but from all I could tell, things had seemed perfect.  He's never told me exactly why they broke up, and I figure it's up to him to share that when he wants to. 

As we packed, at one point the Tall South African got a call from Caroline, and then we all had a hysterical time trying to be quiet, to keep up the pretence that he wasn't coming to her party that evening.  Of course, given that at this point we'd moved on to demolishing Sweetheart's champagne collection, we were having a tough time controlling the giggles.

It was also funny at one point when Sweetheart turned out to have a women's coat in his flat, from a previous lover who had never come back for it, and asked us girls if any of us wanted it.  I tried it on, surprised that it fit over my shoulders, but then demonstrated the humorous part of being me:  It buttoned perfectly over my waist, and then strained to button across my chest.  That had all of the boys cracking up, and Sweetheart asked, "Have you ever thought about getting them reduced?"  When I assured him I hadn't, he replied, "Oh thank God!"

He ordered pizza, we had our pizza and champagne, and then everyone was leaving to go to Caroline's birthday party.  I was all dusty and wearing yoga pants from the packing, so I insisted on going home to change first, and assured them I would meet them all there.  As a result, it was nearly 10 PM by the time I arrived at a party that had started at 8 PM, but there you have it.  Need to be better prepared next time!

Given that the Tall South African had been telling Caroline this whole time that he couldn't make it, she was so surprised when he showed up that she burst into tears.  I never quite get that, crying because you are happy, but then again, she's been weirdly emotional lately. 

As soon as I showed up, I was absolutely bombarded with people hugging me, giving me enthusiastic kisses, and just being generally excited that I was there.  Of course, the best treat for me was that Matt was there!  (He told me later that as soon as he saw the Tall South African, he knew that I must be nearby, but was surprised when we didn't walk in together.  He said it's pretty much the only reason he gets excited to see the Tall South African, as he always knows we come as a pair!)

I'd known Qatari Boy was going to be there, although I was a bit annoyed that here we'd gotten to another party before he'd made plans to see me.  And I'd warned him that waiting to run into me at a party was not a good idea, which he was about to discover.  Because every time I turned around, there was somebody else (usually a guy) excited to see me and waiting to wrap me up in a big hug.  And so I spent the entire evening chatting and dancing with friends, to the point that the Tall South African dragged me outside for a non-existent cigarette, to ask me, "What are you doing?  You're totally ignoring this guy!  He's going to lose interest!" 

To which I responded, "I just DO. NOT. CARE."

Because I really feel like Qatari Boy hasn't made any effort to impress me, to ask me out, to do anything with me, and here he's finally realising how popular I am, and how many other options I have.

Dancing the night away

In fact, the person I found myself most frequently chatting to was Roofie's brother.  Again, I remain confused about his precise feelings for me, but whatever, I just enjoy hanging out with him.  And that we did, singing along to Bon Jovi songs from the 80's and Australian classics like "You're the Voice."  Just the hilarious way you sing in groups to great old songs.

At some point I realised that Qatari Boy was no longer around, although I'd had no idea when he disappeared.  I later checked my phone to realise he'd texted me at around 1 AM to apologise, that he was leaving.  Ah well...

I stayed, dancing with Matt and just having a blast, for the next few hours.  We kept buying each other rounds, and at one point I got a thrill when the guy at the bar declined to charge me for the drinks, as I guess I'm just that good-looking.  We all need ego boosts like that occasionally!    

Finally at 2 AM, the lights in the bar came on, and the Tall South African came to find me, as he was heading home with Caroline.  He kept saying repeatedly that he would come home with me instead (he seemed quite concerned about me), but I assured him it was fine, that he should go have some fun.  Matt put me on the night bus to go home, and an hour later I was back in my flat.  Excellent night out, and quite good fun!