Vacation

I went to Sarah's parents' house in Charlottesville last week. This involved extensive preparation, though in the end nothing worked out quite right. I tallied the bus fare at about eighty dollars, and it ended up being in the neighborhood of $120. It turns out that I would have save 40 percent by buying tickets two weeks in advance. The reason for the delay was Beverly. I suspect my mother told her about my unemployment and depression, and subtly suggested that Beverly employ me for a weekend. But Beverly did not get back to us until the eleventh hour. More on her later. Suffice to say I bought my tickets at full price, and had to reschedule my return ticket ($15 fee) when Beverly basically changed her mind about me staying at her house for a night. The Greyhound clerk couldn't change my ticket at the Port Authority for some reason; I had to wait until I got to Richmond, whereupon I got a non-express ticket to NY departing at 2:45. Sarah and Adam ended up entertaining me in Tuckahoe until then, but more on that later.

On Wednesday, I got a call from Maria while I was still in bed. Toni, for whatever reason (guilt? family connections?) decided to call me back to the office. I agreed to come in the following day, as I had to pick up the tickets with my mother. When I got there, Samantha had left for another job, and Toni commandeered my cubicle. She didn't even say hello, but I'm used to her by now. I ended up moving boxes into the basement while wearing office clothes. They just needed an extra pair of hands. I recently was 'hired' part-time by Toni, but I suspect she'll just let me go once we clear out the foliage and weeds out front. Or perhaps even earlier. It's not going well so far.

But back to my story.

I'd expected it to be just the two of us, but her boyfriend Adam joined us for the whole weekend. They canoodled while I ended up being the third wheel. Apparently, the pair have moved out of their apartment and are living out of their car. Adam sleeps in the trunk with a Pokemon plushie and other assorted cushions. The plan is to raise six grand by mid-september and then move to Oakland, where they'll still be living out of the car. We chatted amicably, but I succumbed to my habit of talking too much. This continued into the rest of the four days. There is nothing to do in Charlottesville. We joked about the lack of an Apple store or Best Buy. We went to the mall, but I didn't see anyone. After eating some ice cream at Chap's, (I passed on it) we went to the Tea Lounge and shared a hooka. It was caramel flavored, I think. It just tasted like smoke. Sarah only inhales second hand smoke to protect her lungs. More awkwardness as Adam endlessly asks questions about my life and career.

I was surprised by the condition of the Irons house. It was a mess. Leak-stained ceilings, peeling ceiling tiles, stained carpeting. It was so demoralizing that when I went to bed, I rang up Kerri to whine for a few minutes. The next morning Sarah mentioned that there's an air vent connecting our rooms and that she can hear phone calls from up there. She played it off as though she didn't hear my call due to being out of the room. Then why bring it up? I'll never know. Anyway, I did notice a coldness from Adam after that. Sarah said he was just grouchy about having only bagels to eat, or something. The rest of the weekend was sullen.

The Irons took good care of me and kept me well fed. But I did notice that Kim and whatever-his-name is did not speak to me unless absolutely necessary. I did not speak to them either. We had fried chicken on day 1, burgers on day 2, and pizza on day 3. It was from neighborhood pizza place which serves specialty slices. We ordered Hawaiian (ham and pineapple) and some other vegetable pizza which the parents ate.

Me and Sarah went bowling at Kegler's together, but overall Adam was omnipresent. I did like the black lights and neon at Kegler's. (All bowling alleys look the same nowadays).

There was an odd time where  Kim suggested we go check out a pottery sale nearby. We left on foot, and I was struck by how brambly and gross Charlotessville is. I developed a newfound affection and wistfulness for New York. We stopped at the sale and I saw Beverly chatting loudly with some guy. We made eye contact and she pretended not to recognize me and ducked into her car. An hour later I got a frosty phone call from my mother saying that Beverly had called and did not know I was in Charlotessville, not Richmond. I explained what had happened and was duly chewed out for being "rude" and not introducing myself in person. Beverly called a while after that, still pretending that she had not seen me. (What a neurotic dope!) We exchanged impieties. None of this endeared me to Sarah; I came off like a petulant brat.

Generally speaking, it was a good visit. I couldn't have asked for more accommodating hosts. They didn't let me pay for anything, either. But I would be lying if I said I enjoyed myself.

It was downhill from there. Sarah had to go to work on Monday, but we agreed to meet up for lunch so they could see me off at a reasonable hour and not leave me to wait in the bus depot. Adam took me to the library in Tuckahoe, then back to the office. My immaturity and lack of class was on display. Adam suggested that people aren't antisocial, it's just that I'm overly negative. I took it under advisement. Sarah rejoined us for lunch at Aunt Sarah's Pancake House. I had my customary strawberry pancakes while Sarah had some kind of pancake turnover. Adam had only a chocolate sundae. They dropped me off at the station and I noticed a tinge of impatience in Sarah, as though she was pleased to be rid of me. I have not received word from her since, but given the car situation I'm not going to bother her with PMs.

I boarded the bus in a truly deep depression. There was an attractive blonde on my bus, but due to various reasons (lack of confidence, shattered ego) I blew a chance to sit with her. There is an express bus running to the Port Authority ever hour, but for some reason this particular bus stopped in Newark. There was a thunderstorm during the latter half of the trip. I returned home, adamant that I would never speak or express an opinion on any subject on which I was not certain about. Mom detected my weird behavior and (of course) took it personally, assuming that I was throwing a hissy fit.

I'm back at work. Beginning to wonder if it was a mistake to return. The first day was uneventful, the second one even moreso as Maria has no time to deal with me, Gerry is nowhere in sight, and I have nothing to do. My current task to compile a bill. I've been handed an incomplete calender to fill in the events of the Fanakis case. Today I learn that the bill could conceivably go out tomorrow. News to me. Maria is terrified of getting "yelled at" by Gerry for not teaching me correctly. I'm not sure I understand this weird crush on me which Gerry has developed, but at the same time Maria is overreacting to complaints.

I'm planning on leaving the office at 1:00. I will make it clear that I will not be coming in again (even three days a week) if this continues. No one has an idea what's going on, or if they do they're not letting me in on it. So far, this is the exact same situation as before: I come in and do nothing for hours on end. I can't busy myself with anything because everything has its proper place, and Maria has no time to deal with filing (or more precisely, misfiling).