Fortunately, Josh decided to accompany me to the restaurant where we would be having our pre-graduation dinner. Thankfully, he offered to drive. At that point, fatigue had settled into my bones like an uninvited guest crashing the hottest party in town. Not to be left out, hunger came as the "plus one." Needing to be the center of attention, it rudely announced its presence loud and clear with a garish growl.
Oh well...at least we would be eating soon. I'd be able to relax, unwind and enjoy an outstanding meal at one of my favorite restaurants in Bloomington. What could possibly happen to spoil our dinner?
Funny I should ask...
Josh and I met up with Marni and Dick at the restaurant. We were escorted to our table and sat down. So far... so good. While looking over our menus, our waitress came by to tell us about the specials for the evening. Dick eyed her impatiently and before she was done with her spiel, he blurted out that we will be needing two checks--- one for the kids and him and a separate one for me. We all stared at him in shocked disbelief. The waitress was flabbergasted . As my kids and I were, she was totally caught off guard and didn't know how to respond. I'm sure she didn't get requests like this too often... I'd even go so far as to say, this was probably her first. Needless to say, the mood at our table was no longer festive and upbeat. I wanted to pulverize my kids' father. Josh looked completely demoralized. Dick was unfazed.
In fact,just when I thought that Dick had stooped about as low as he could possibly go, he proved me wrong. This guy never ceases to amaze me. When Marni, Josh and I finally recuperated from the shock over the waitress incident, Dick hit me with his next blow. As we were finishing up our entrees, he stated that he would be making a graduation party for Josh and because he's such a great guy, he's going to invite me to the party. Trying to maintain some sense of composure and knowing that my kids were spectators in Dick's sick game of "What Can I Continually Do To Make Your Life As Miserable As Possible So You Will Beg To End This Divorce Process Already And Give Me What I Want," I tried not to show any emotion even though my dinner was now working it's way back up my throat and wanting to exit my mouth immediately. Again, we were all caught off guard by this. Fortunately, our waitress was spared being a part of this episode.
"What do you mean YOU are making Josh a graduation party," I asked. "I am making a party with MY money and you are welcome to come," Dick retorted. My thoughts were racing fast and furious. Did the kids know about this? Who did he invite to this soiree? Was he planning on bringing Juanita to show her off as his....whatever??? I didn't want to give Dick the satisfaction of asking him anything. Instead I just looked at him (with dagger eyes) and prayed that I was not in for any more surprises that evening. After we finished our meals and our waitress brought us our separate checks, I paid my bill and told my kids I was going to head out to the hotel to unpack. With that, I got up and left the restaurant.
It was about a 45 minute drive to Indianapolis. I wasn't exactly sure where the hotel was and at that point, it was already dark outside. I'm grateful that my directions were perfect and I made it to my destination without any problems. I couldn't wait to check in, get up to my room, relax and finally call it a night. After unpacking, I realized that there wasn't a shower cap in my bathroom, so I went back downstairs to request one at the front desk. In line ahead of me were a middle-aged couple and their elderly mother. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation they were having with the woman behind the counter. It seemed that the elderly woman got a discount on her room by showing her AARP card. Wow! I'm a member of AARP. I should get a discount too. So when it was my turn, I shared the information about my club affiliation, and I too received a discount and cash back on my reservation. I was so excited. I was joking around with the staff that this was almost as good as winning at a slot machine. We were sharing a laugh over this when I looked up and saw that Dick and Marni just walked into the lobby. The timing was perfect. I couldn't have planned this any better if I tried. The look on his face was priceless. I wish I had a camera to capture it. Finally I was in control. I smiled sweetly at them and said, "Imagine this...what are the odds that we would be staying at the same place?"
Touche... two can play at this game!
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