The Reunion or Part the Third

After a less-than-completely-restful sleep in the hotel (I do not sleep well in hotels, especially the kind with loud air conditioning and windows that don't open), we showered and dressed and went into downtown Ann Arb0r in search of breakfast, finally settling on Sweetwaters, where we ordered tea (they've finally learned how to make it properly), coffee, juices and baked goods. We were in Kerryt0wn, which I remember fondly from my days as a resident, so we wandered around the farmer's market, bought a pint of fresh blueberries (mostly so as to have change for the meter) which were delicious, and then walked back into the downtown part so Hubby could get a much-needed haircut. He ended up at the hairdressing school because the salon two streets over was prohibitively expensive.

Actually, when we lived in Ann Arb0r I used to get my hair cut at one of the schools in the area. They did a great job for very little money, and I was performing a service in the field of education.

While Hubby had his shampoo, massage and trim, Buddy Boy and I went over to the Dawntreader on Liberty, a used book store of epic proportions which looks just the same as I remembered it (although the outside of the building has been redone), then killed time in Nic0II's Arcade (not a video arcade, but a covered passageway between two buildings), my son reading one of his new books on a bench, and me wandering in and out of stores. I bought a glass windchime in The Caravan, one of my favourite shops where we always used to get our greeting cards, which was all we could really afford in those days.

We arrived at the BoIc0ms' just after 1 p.m. to hugs and kisses from people we hadn't seen in years. The whole reunion was a resounding success. Everyone looks older, of course, with spouses and kids, but they're still the same too. The buffet of middle eastern food, as well as salmon and a chicken paella, was excellent. It's so rare for catered dishes to be so tasty. While we ate and drank and reminisced and made new friends, our hosts set up a croquet game in which several people partook and many took advantage of the swimming pool. Buddy Boy was a charmer, playing with the younger kids, conversing with the grownups.

After the tables and chairs were cleared away, we adjourned to our hotel room and then reassembled at Seva, our favourite vegetarian restaurant in the whole world which, sadly, no longer has chimichangas on their menu. I did, however, have an excellent Caribbean quesadilla which more than made up for the omission, but I had been looking forward to one. I also drank a couple of lime daquiris, which were delightful. Back in the day, Seva did not have a liquor licence.

Dinner over, several of us were going to go back to the house of the former classmate who lives in town when I asked Buddy Boy where his bathing suit was and he replied, "Over the railing of the pool at the B0Ic0ms'". So we drove there instead. BiII and J0an invited us in and we did not get away for about an hour. J0an took me upstairs and gave me lots of sheet music for my burgeoning jazz career, BiII plied Hubby with Venezuelan rum, and Buddy Boy was given some books to read. We came away with the aforesaid books and sheet music, but also with lots of CDs as well.

When we finally got to the other guy's house after dropping Buddy Boy off at the hotel, people were leaving. As Hubby and the two remaining guys polished off several different kinds of single-malt scotch, I tried not to fall asleep in my chair. Eventually I was able to become comatose in our hotel room, and thus ends another day of our trip.

We got Buddy Boy to the bus station in time to buy his ticket and wave to him, only to get a phone call three hours later that we had sent him a day early. Actually, the email was right in front of all of us and no one noticed that the date of departure was the 15th, but he was so sure that he had to leave on Friday. Oh well. He called from the office of the movie company, and they'll find a place for him to stay and look after him.