Persuasion

As it turned out, when Sid told me when his flight was gonna be in, he gave me eastern time, not central. So, when he called me and told me he was at my front door, I was still at Borders drinking my coffee. I told him to wait for me while I drive home. Twenty minutes later, I got home, and spent all of thirty seconds in my apartment before it was decided that dinner was in order.

I gotta hand it to the guy, I made it halfway through my chicken nachos before Sid asked me if I was sure I didn't want to go with him. I was sure. His big persuasive arguement? "Aw, c'mon!"

I laid all my cards on the table, telling him every reservation I have over the whole thing, and he matched me, point by point.

ME: Those people were the whole reason I left that God-forsaken town.
SID: It was ten years ago.
ME: Yes, and aside from Nicky, does anyone else even want me to be there?
SID: I'm sure that they do.
ME: Do any of them know if I'm coming?
SID: Yes, I believe they do...I mean, I'm pretty sure.
ME: I just don't think anything has changed between me and them.
SID: Look, I got it just as bad as you did back then, and I still want to go.
ME: I still think this is a bad idea.
SID: Prove me wrong.
ME: I gotta work.
SID: So, ask your boss for the rest of the week off.

This went on for fifteen minutes before we hit an uncomfortable silence. It was at this moment that I gave him a hypothetical: If I were able to get the next two days off, and I were to go along with you on this, what kind of guarantees do I have?

Sid accused me of extortion, I told him that if he was really wanting me to do something I really didn't want to do, that there would be a few things I would need to have happen, or else he should just drop it completely. He humored me.

1) He should pay for hotel. He's already getting a hotel room for himself, why not upgrade to a suite?
2) He should pay for meals. I told him I eat light.
3) He should pay for drinks. If things go as smoothly as he's thinking it will, I won't be needing very much alcohol to get myself through it.
4) Escape plan: The first sign of any serious trouble, we get the hell out of town.
5) I reserve the right to change the rules if the situation demands it.

After a long moment of consideration, he told me he'd consider everything except the last one. Then he turned the tables. If this deal was to even be considered, I'd have to call my boss and ask about time off.

It was a long shot, but I called my boss' cell phone. I told him I had something come up, and asked him if he really needed me the next couple days. He told me that we'd take a look at the workload in the morning. Sid was watching me talk on the phone, so I made the news look really bad so as not to give him a ray of hope. I told him the answer was a definite maybe.

After getting off the phone, we headed back to my place. Sid surveyed my DVD collection and has been watching a movie while I update the blog. There's a 90% chance I'll have to go through with this, and all because I tried to bluff.