Future Past

Dearest Rachel –

I hadn’t expected to be cooking for my own birthday dinner; but then again, that’s not what yesterday evening was supposed to be, in any event. The idea actually stemmed from Erin wondering in our ongoing group chat whether the six of us could get together at her place for a change, complete with multiple options as to when we might be able to do so (which happened to be last night or tonight; she has the whole week off, but as this is Holy Week, some of the usual options are, let’s just say, limited. More on that later). As Logan would be at his parents for the next few days over Passover, yesterday was agreed upon, and from there, it was honestly surprising how quickly everything fell into place.

Normally, the best we’ve been able to assemble has been five out of six, which is more than twice as good as what Meatloaf once claimed “ain’t bad.” Granted, that’s usually made so by the fact that us three boys are easily lined up at any given place and time with sufficient notice; the girls, independent as they are, tend to be the proverbial “two out of three” that we have to settle for. But for whatever reason, once the date was settled on, it proved astonishingly simple for everyone to get on board.

Maybe it helped that one of them was taking the initiative to host this time around – and it probably didn’t hurt that by doing so, it was within a fairly short distance of another. As much as our place is home to half our group, and it’s something of a geographic mean for those coming from either Palatine or Des Plaines, it means all of the girls have to drive to get here, and I suppose that gets to be something of a nuisance, especially in the evenings (not that there’s any other option to that, for those of us that still have to work during the day). Having an event either at their home – or in their neighborhood – mitigates that more annoying part of getting together, that of getting there. And of course, if you’re hosting, you’re bound to be there, rather than being able to see it as an optional thing; although, since it was her idea in the first place, I can’t see that she would look at it as a burden.

Enough speculation as to how this worked when so many attempts have only been able to work so well. I’ll say this; her new apartment – or is it a condominium? – has a number of similar elements to our own once-upon-a-time condo life. No, the layout isn’t much like our old place – it’s decidedly smaller, which makes sense for a single occupant as opposed to the two (and eventually three) of us – but it has a familiar flow between the kitchen, dining and living rooms, not to mention the two bedrooms (one being for when her parents visit town) and the master bed and bath setup. There’s also the third floor setup, along with the need for quiet as everyone departed after ten at night, lest we wake up the other residents. I can’t say I miss those days of having to watch my step like that (even if I’m much more likely to be sufficiently quiet as to not break that rule).

As for the meal, well, I would say that the responsibility fell to Logan and myself, except we took it on rather willingly. Both of us were basically reprising dishes we’d prepared for the three of us during the last week or so, to see if the girls would enjoy them as well as we had (they did, especially since I put twice as much seasoning in this preparation as I had the first time around), so that wasn’t all that difficult for us. Meanwhile, Kirsten had intended to bring just one thing in the way of appetizers, but you probably remember – and in that way, she hasn’t changed that much – that “one more thing” never actually stops at the number one. She had to make two trips to the car in order to load up everything she meant to – and still realized she’d left something behind once she arrived.

But by and large, it was a pleasant and cozy get-together, and despite being in a place we’d never been before, it felt a bit more like old times than I can remember it being for a very long time.

And then, once we’d had our fill of everything else, both Erin and Kerstin brought out cakes. Since my birthday is on Good Friday this year, there wouldn’t be a chance to do anything on the day, so they decided to throw this in as part of the moment days ahead of schedule. It wasn’t a complete surprise, but it wasn’t exactly belabored in the chat, either; and the fact that there were two cakes (one, a green half-sheet that looked like it had been converted from a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and the other a proper Japanese Christmas-style cake with whipped cream and strawberries) just went to demonstrate the somewhat haphazard planning behind it. It was amusing to be a part of, and nice to feel like I might have had some indirect impetus in getting everybody together, after so many more deliberate attempts on my part have fallen short these past few months.

I apologize for not getting pictures of anything while we were there, honey; I wasn’t exactly thinking about any sort of essay that I might be able to assemble about us getting together like this. It was just the six of us enjoying the moment as it was, which I suppose is how things should be more often. For what it’s worth, I even managed to hold my tongue about certain topics such as travel and the like, and let Daniel do whatever talking he felt like, without always throwing in my own two cents. Cakes aside, this wasn’t the time to try to be the star of the show; this was more Erin’s moment to be at home and hostessing. Who knows? This might be a bit of the future for us, even as it reminds me of the past a bit.

And with that being said, I should let you go for now, with the usual request for you to keep an eye on all of us, and wish us luck, as we’re all going to need it.