You're What?!?!?

I met up with my friend G. last night for dinner in the city. I haven't seen her in about 2 years so I was pretty excited to catch up.

We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory which is situated high up on the sky terrace of Macy's. The restaurant was packed with tourists so it was a long wait. We didn't mind since we got to enjoy the view of Union Square.



We were finally seated after 35 minutes and proceeded to order. I had the Thai lettuce wraps which were NOM!



As we were stuffing our faces, she asked the question. The question that I was hoping she wouldn't ask, "So how was Ireland?". I corrected her and said, "you mean NORTHERN IRELAND which is part of the UK not the Republic of Ireland." "Yeah, Ireland", she said, "I'm so jealous. Ireland is so beautiful!". I was screaming in my head Ugh! It's not Ireland! Whatever. I proceeded to tell her, "Yes, it's beautiful for about a week! It kind of gets old. And you can't really see much of it because it's pissing down with rain!". She then asks me about HopAlong and when we plan to marry and where we're getting married and if she can see my engagement ring. She looks at it and says, "That's not an engagement ring! It's not a diamond!". "It's a ruby", I said, "He chose it because it's my birthstone and the diamonds surrounding it are his birthstone. I didn't want a diamond anyway." "Oh, that's cute," she says. Cute. Cute?!?

Her phone rings just in time to change the subject. She hangs up and lets out a big sigh. I ask her who it was and if anything is the matter. She says, "Oh it's M. He says he needs to be picked up from school." "M? Who is M?". "He's my husband", she says. I almost choked on my lettuce wrap, "You're WHAT?!?!?". She lets out a chuckle and says, "I forgot to tell you. I'm married now." Hmmmm. How can one forget to tell you they are married? Strange. She tells me about their weddingin Vegas at some drive-thru chapel. The officiant sounded like Vincent Price and the red velvet curtains were dusty. All I could do was nod my head because I was still in shock over the husband part.

"So do I get to meet him?", I ask. "Of course", she says enthusiastically, "We're picking him up at North Beach. We can have cappuccino and tiramisu at Steps of Rome." We pick up the check and drive out to North Beach. She circled around the block repeatedly and was frustrated. She called him on his cell but it went straight to voicemail. "Didn't he tell you where he was waiting?", I asked. "Yeah", she said, "Columbus Avenue." "But Columbus is a long street!", I said. She calls and calls and calls and after 20 minutes he finally answers his phone and says that he's waiting at the bus stop. "Which one?", she yells. We finally see him standing at the bus stop with his suitcase.

We stop over at the Steps of Rome and had the most decadent tiramisu. It was heavenly!



M. seemed very nice. Although, it was awkward and it was weird just 2 years ago, she was single. I guess a lot can change in 2 years. I congratulated them both and raised my cappuccino cup.

It was too late to take the train home so she suggested I crash at their place. I woke up in the morning to find everyone has gone to work or school. She leaves a note on the door saying that I can help myself to anything in the kitchen and to make sure the door was locked when I leave. I took a shower, got dressed and headed out the door. She lives in the Avenues near Ocean Beach. It was foggy and I could smell the sea in the air. I walked to the bus stop on the corner and hopped on the 38 Geary back to downtown. By the time we got to 6th Avenue, the bus was packed like a sardine can. Commuters. On O'Farrell, some guy that stunk to high heaven got on the bus. Everyone rushed to the back of the bus, what little room there was, to avoid the stench, their faces pressed up against the pole bars and each other. Luckily, I was seated near the window and covered my nose with my scarf. I laughed to myself. Ah! How I've missed the joys of riding on the Muni.

When I reached the Ferry Building, I bought myself a hot chocolate and a croissant at Peet's and boarded the ferry.



The ferry is definitely the way to go! And as we headed out into the bay, I saw the Golden Gate Bridge peaking out of the fog. I've been here my whole life and everytime I see that bridge, it never ceases to take my breath away. She's such a beauty. I guess you have to be a native San Franciscan to really understand what I'm talking about.

"Welcome home!" She says. "Welcome home!"