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| At the club at Sophie's birthday |
Not like it mattered, for I arrived at the same time as Hong Kong Boy,
and we found the Young Dutchman fully ensconced in a crowd of people, as
apparently he’d planned to catch up with quite a few people this evening. Oh well, I’ve long said that parties are the
worst places to catch up with people, and with the Young Dutchman in particular. So I had a nice time chatting instead with
Hong Kong Boy and his girlfriend, only talking to the Young Dutchman here and
there.
At 8:45pm we decided to stay for one more drink, and I
offered to get the round for myself, Hong Kong Boy and the Young Dutchman,
except it took me so long to get served it was almost exactly 9 PM before they
took my order. It reminded me of why I
rarely go to the Lansdowne anymore, and I do think I shall have to start making
some serious use of the pool or totally reconsider my membership. I’ll have to check my bill later about that.
We stayed until about 9:30, when we realised that since
Sophie’s party had started an hour previously, it was really time for us to
go. Five of us piled into a cab, which
got us there for a little over £5. I
paid the driver and people threw random coins at me, to the point that I think
I might have been paid more by others than the actual fare. Hmmm…so I came out ahead there.
Then when we got to the club, I stopped at the coat check,
where I chatted to Sophie (the only time I would be able to talk to the
birthday girl all evening) and when I got to the head of the line, the coat
check girl said she wouldn’t be able to take my coat until she got some more
change. Well, after winning the pub quiz
last Sunday, my coin purse was incredibly heavy, so I offered that I might be
able to help her out. Counting by the
light of her iPhone in the darkened club, we were able to count out £19, but
she only took £18 and gave me a £20 note, saying, “Well, the coat check costs
£2 anyway”. It was only later when I
walked away that I thought about the math of that and realised I’d just been
PAID £2 to check my coat. £4 if you really
think about the value of what I received.
So I was doing quite well financially this evening!
Determined not to drink much, I accepted when Hong Kong Boy
offered to get me a drink, and then sipped it slowly to hang onto it all
evening. I did not want to pay over-priced
bar prices for drinks. Particularly as
this was one of those bars that played the music so loudly, the only way to
talk to people was to shout directly into their ears, and hence made it very
hard to circulate.
I spent much of my time chatting to Hong Kong Boy, got roped
into conversation for a bit with a guy Sophie had met through horse vaulting,
and again mostly missed the Young Dutchman.
I weaved my way in and out among people I knew, trying to make sure I
said hello to the people I should, and then realising that I was getting stuck
in conversation with people I didn’t. I
also got totally surprised at one point when a boy I know (and know for always
being drunk), came up behind me out of nowhere and picked me up quite high in
the air. And on the one hand it’s
somewhat flattering to realise that you’re light enough for a boy to pick up as
though you are a feather, but on the other hand quite alarming to realise how
easily a boy can toss you about the room if he wants to!
(I was wearing a red dress that evening that I’ve never
quite understood its effect on the boys, but the Young Dutchman complimented me
on it the instant he saw me that evening, and I was finding myself the target
of quite a bit of attention. I guess it
was like waving a red flag at a bull with a drunk boy, he just through I was
something pretty he wanted to play with).
I finally texted The Blonde and the Tall South African at
around 11 PM to ask if they were coming (they had originally said they were),
as the Tall South African had originally asked if he could stay with me this
evening. I had to admit I was somewhat
relieved when The Blonde replied that they’d gotten to talking and decided not
to come, and so he would be staying at hers this evening. Given how much I had to do the next day, this
was welcome news indeed.
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| The back part of the club at Sophie's birthday |
I stayed a bit
longer, but finally when it was nearing midnight, figured I was time to head
home whilst I could still catch the Tube.
A much tamer Sophie’s birthday than last year, but I suppose that’s a
good thing. It was finally as I was
leaving that the Young Dutchman caught me, wanting to chat just as I wanted to
go.
It was funny to me, as things were so loud in this place you
really had to shout directly in people’s ears, but with him, instead of yelling
in people’s ears, we actually just stood there, my cheek pressed against his,
whispering in each other’s ears. And it
was that sort of weird intimacy I only ever really experience with him. I struggle to explain this to people, how
it’s not some tingling sexual excitement, but more felt like….we were hugging
without arms. Just ensconced in the
warmth of his embrace. I can only
imagine how it looked, the two of us standing there, faces pressed together,
but it was nice after missing him all evening, to finally get to talk to him
for a bit.
He told me that he’d talked to the Lovely Dutch Girl for
over an hour about the status of things with her fiancée, as she’d told him
that they were broken up, but perhaps she’d been a bit unclear about that with
him. Apparently he finally told her, “If
you don’t end it, we will.” To which I
replied with surprise, “We can DO that?”
Gosh, I wish I’d known this before!
Because Lord knows, I’m not the biggest fan of the fiancée. In truth, I think he’s kidding somewhat, but
knowing him, maybe he’s not.
He also expressed his annoyance at how everyone he saw kept
asking him how the new job was going. “New
job? I’ve been working there since
August!” Yet, I don’t think he realises
how much he has disappeared since he started working. Nobody has seen him in ages. Even I, the person he is probably closest to,
struggles to see him as much as I would like.
We only stay in touch as well as we do at this point I think because of
how we make sure to have a lengthy chat on the phone at least once a week. I miss how frequently we used to talk though,
I really do. At least I know I haven’t
been replaced with anyone else, just work!
Finally some bouncer started hassling me about being too
near the stairs, which he thought had me blocking them, and I needed to get
going anyway If the original point of not missing the train was to be
upheld. So I gave him a kiss good-bye,
and bounded off to get my coat and catch the train. Ran into the birthday girl outside and gave
her my good-byes, which I was glad to get a chance to do. Might have been leaving the party early at
just after midnight, but it was time to get home.
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