Not So Special Special Day

I apologize for not posting a lot lately, tis the Season for crazy Holiday work hours and not enough sleep. Let me take you back about a month when I told you guys I was taking the limo out with my friends. It was the day I was to get married and my friends made sure I was never alone with my thoughts. I went to the mall with my one girlfriend in the early afternoon to fulfill our shopping needs. I had one goal in mind, to find me a killer outfit for a night out inthe city . Readers I don’t go out. I’m not a clubbing person and even if I was, the closest one is about an hour away. This isn’t exactly ideal for a night of wanting to drink. Kate and I visited a multitude of stores before I decided we should go to Forever 21 and see what scandalous attire they would have. Thankfully I was in luck and I found two outfits that made me feel sexy and confident. One a pleather, pleated black skirt with a black crop top and a long sleeve gray midriff top (yes I said the word midriff, like I’m in my 50’s or something.) Both the tops had a piece of material that acted as a choker which added to the sex appeal, that and a bit of a neckline to show off my barely there cleavage.

Kate and I shopped that day until we dropped, more like until I dropped. Later in the afternoon I had to be home to get ready, so I left her to finish her shopping in Vicky Secrets. We were both really excited for the night. I don’t ever really go out and when I do I am generally the mother hen of the crew. Tending to everyone being sick, making sure they’re well hydrated and ensuring they’ve eaten some type of food to keep the nausea at bay. Tonight my friends wanted to be my mother hen and allow me to drink until I could drink no more. I wasn’t exactly keen on the idea, not a huge fan of having no control or limited control. As I got home from shopping and really had a few minutes to myself I could feel my resolve begin to fade. I had tried all day to push from my mind that I was to be getting married that day. That the limo that was carrying us all to the city for fun and drinks should’ve been carrying me to my wedding. I hadn’t really had a lot of time alone to process the day and I couldn’t thank my friends more for that. My girlfriend flew in from Texas and was by my side for most of the three days she was in town, my mom and sister consistently checking in on me, Kate taking me shopping and my best friend John even braving the city life for me. But as I sat there, alone in my living room, I realized that my future had drastically changed from where I thought I would be. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also wasn’t something I was accustomed to. I’m not a huge fan of change and this is pretty much the mother of all changes. I reached out to my support group (all my friends) and told them how I was feeling. Clarissa, the girl from Texas, told me she knew it was coming, but was surprised it took as long as it did for it to hit me… I had no hard feelings to my ex, for I knew he did us a favor. I knew we weren’t right for each other and neither of us were entirely happy. But I was ok with that because I loved him, but sometimes that is not enough. After about a ten minute pity party and coming to even more of a realization that I deserved better, I picked myself up off of the couch and started to get ready. I went all in with the dark smokey eyes and lipstick as well as adding six inch heels for a nice touch. All of my friends arrived around six to finish getting ready and the carriage arrived around seven.

I was excited! I was finally going out and doing something that I had always wanted to do. A night out on the town. We piled into the limo with help from our driver and away we went. Of course Clarissa and I had done a drink and snack run earlier in the week so we had all of the necessities covered. Whipped vodka, orange soda, munchies, zebra cakes, nutty bars, fritos. You name it we probably had it in the arsenal. John was pouring my whipped vodka and orange soda drinks while we headed into the city. The downside of having him pouring our drinks? There were a few bumps along the way, so needless to say a lot of us had more alcohol in our cups than intended. The ride in was filled with laughter and dancing from the music bluetoothed from my phone.

Our first stop of the night was a brew house. It seemed rather neat and I had always wanted to try something like it. Needless to say I am by no means a brew house person. We all got water to start since we had been drinking in the limo and did not want the night to end early. Of course we were all starving by the time we had gotten into the city it was around 8:30. The table all ordered personal sized pizzas. Needless to say they were not worth the $12 they cost and it definitely left my stomach in knots. Our limo driver took us to our next destination which was more our scene. It was a little dive bar with 90s music blaring through the speakers. I had not realized the city was doing Halloween Costume Bar Crawl that weekend, so the city was bustling with strange costumes and slutty costumes a like. Our limo driver unfortunately misplaced his phone, so thankfully John let him his for us to call when the clock struck 1:00.

Well Readers I knew that pizza wasn’t a good idea. About an hour into drinking angry orchards and dancing I really felt like I was going to lose my guts. Kate and I ran to find a bathroom, but the bar was getting more and more packed and it was only one bathroom. Unfortunately, I did not make it through the line, but there were garbage cans next to me. Kate held my hair as I embarrassingly lost my dinner. I can say without a doubt I’ve never gotten that drunk. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. I went back to our little corner by the table and started drinking water to get my bearings again. I danced to my favorite 90s songs with the girls as John watched over us by the little table. We didn’t move far from our spot due to the fact the bar was getting more and more crowded by the minute and our spot was near a wall so we didn’t always have people at our backs. There was a mechanical bull there,that we watched in awe as some of the women in their scandalously short costumes attempted to ride. Needless to say we had a lot of things going on around us to keep us entertained. I had spotted a really cute guy a few feet from our group and told the girls I was hoping he’d come over. So we did what any normal group of girls in their 20s did. We started dancing on one another as Clarissa beckoned him over to us. He was shy and really didn’t know what to do. Needless to say I ended up going to him a few times to dance. At one point the girls left to use the restroom leaving me to fend for myself and John to ensure no man was going to get closer than allowed. I went back up to the cute guy and tried to strike up some type of conversation in the loud bar…

Readers, I have no problem with anyone from different cultures, but I will say I was in complete shock when he handed me his phone and told me he didn’t speak any English. We talked through text on his phone, which was also translated into Spanish. I was at a loss. I can’t say I’d ever been in a situation like this. I looked to John and mouthed save me as the girls were coming back. He then told Clarissa and they danced over stealing me away. I told them the situation and Kate yelled “HOLA!” The guy looked so excited to hear her speak Spanish, only to realize that was all she really knew. Needless to say we let him be for the remainder of the night. Around 12:45 we called our carriage and out the bar we went. Posted outside was a cop to ensure everyone was safe. He stopped me asking why I was leaving so early. I informed him that Cinderella’s carriage awaited. He responded telling me he was bummed to see me go so soon. Again another encounter I never thought I would have. As we file into the limo I had told the girls I wanted to kiss a stranger at the bar. They tell me to run back in and see what I can do. I run inside real quick and scope out the bar. I realize a lot of people were couple up and did not want to be “that girl” who kisses someone else’s man. So I run from the bar and jump into the limo, exhausted. I told the group I just didn’t have the balls to kiss a stranger. We told the limo driver of my lack of Spanish vocabulary with the cute guy. He thought it was rather funny and asked how on earth I managed to get myself out of that one.

The drive home was not as wild as the ride in. Everyone was rather relaxed, munching on the hidden snacks and texting their significant others to let them know we were heading home safely. The girls stayed the night and we stayed up early into the morning hours talking and watching stand up comedians. I remember falling asleep that night thinking there was no one else I would’ve rather shared my not so special, special day with.

You never know where your life is going to take you. I’m learning every day that I shouldn’t worry so much about the destination, but the journey along the way.