I thought we all hated each other?

I'm still pretty drunk, so if this post seems a little disjointed, you'll know why.

The evening went surprisingly well, however, there was plenty of alcohol to go around. When we arrived at the bar, Nicky flagged us down from the back of the bar, where he and Clara were playing pool. My God, Nicky has changed so much. He put down his pool cue and gave me a hug, something he would've been scared shitless to do back in the day. He was always very shy and stand-offish back then and it was difficult to even get so much as a handshake from him. A lot has changed with him. He seems more outgoing, more open in his mannerisms. It's no wonder he was so excited about this whole reunion.

Clara is pretty much just like I remember her: Extremely sarcastic, almost to the point of being hateful. Like most bitter things in this world, she seems to have only gotten worse with age. Back in high school, she was just being a teenager. Today, she's had the life experience needed to justify the attitude.

We all got to drinking and chatting about whatever, but things didn't start to get personal until Grace showed up.

I only hope she didn't think I was some kind of creep by the way I kept looking at her all night. She is just beautiful. I always remember the way she carried herself as a teenager, and she hasn't lost that as she's gotten older. She was, however, quieter I thought than the enthusiatic speaker I once knew.

We all started a game of doubles pool with Nicky and Clara on one team and Sid and I on the other. Clara, in a strategic move, always timed the personal questions for my shot. She asked about my life in Tulsa, about my relationships, about my career...all rather bluntly, I might add, and kinda threw a bucket of ice water on the good times when she did so. I did my best to answer her questions without being rude or being bitter in front of Grace, but I could tell Grace was getting increasingly uncomfortable. She stepped outside at one point, she said, to make a phone call.

I took Nicky aside to talk in private. I wanted to get some information out of him about Grace. The short of it is, she's divorced, has a five-year-old son, and she's back in school now finishing up her Master's. After a while, it seemed she wasn't coming back, so I excused myself to get a breath of fresh air. Once outside, I saw that she was still on the phone, arguing with whomever was on the other end. I lit up a smoke, making sure to stay just out of earshot. I have a feeling I didn't want to know what this was all about.

When she hung up, she looked a bit rattled. I asked if everything was okay, and she said yes, then abruptly changed the subject back to me. She sat down on the curb, then grabbed my arm for me to sit next to her. She asked me about my life, and I must admit, my response was about 80% bullshit. I did everything in my power to hide my anxiety over the fact that here was the girl I believed I once loved, a girl that I really REALLY screwed things up with, and nine years later, We're sitting really REALLY close to one another on the curb outside a bar having a rather pleasant conversation as if nothing had ever happened.

Before I had a chance to ask her about her life, Clara came out with another bucket of ice water. So, we went back inside, had some more drinks and played some more pool. Clara kept asking questions, but Nicky kept trying to get her to shut up. I had been drinking my usual Jaeger shots and Guinness all night, but Grace had ordered a round of her shot of choice, Jamesons whisky. You know, the Irish in me was ready to fall in love with this girl all over again, just for her choice in alcohol.

Around half past midnight, we all kinda tapered off of alcohol, except for Clara and Sid, who drank enough for the rest of us put together. I had never seen Sid, or anyone for that matter, THAT drunk in my entire life. I knew that whether he'd be puking his guts out, or passed out, or both, I'd have to drive his ass back to the hotel. Fortunately, he just passed out. Which meant the wonderful conversation I was intermittantly having with Grace would be cut short.

And that's how the night ended, with me carting Sid's drunk ass up to the room, dropping him on the sofa as I update the blog while the events are fresh in my mind.

One thing is for certain: I was pretty much wrong in hating these people all these years. Sid was right, they seem to have forgotten all about what happened, or at the very least, put it all behind them. We'll be meeting Nicky tomorrow morning for a late breakfast, so even thought the evening came to a rather abrupt end, it's only a to-be-continued until tomorrow.