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I spent last night celebrating my friend Claris's 27th birthday with a gaggle of girls I went to high school with, many of whom I haden't seen since the day we graduated.
It was a lovely evening despite the fact that we got underway two hours late thanks to the numerous wrong turns our entourage took on the way to Garden City. We had dinner at this buffet on Long Island. It was me, Elisabeth, Karisha, Camille, Shameika, Shanecka, Claris, and Claris's five year old son Dimitri who neither Karisha or I had ever met before. I remember talking to Claris on the phone the day after he was born and listening to him gurgle in her arms while we spoke. That was the last time she and I spoke before last night. Back in high school Claris, Karisha, Elisabeth and I were our own clique. We all stayed in contact for the first two years of college, then Claris got pregnant, dropped out of school, moved to Ohio, and the only person she ever called was Elisabeth. Karisha and I have spent the last five years getting all our information about Claris from Elisabeth. Claris moved back to the city...last year I think? We tried calling each other once or twice but getting a hold of her back while I was working night's at NYIT was damn near impossible.
Bottom line, I was fucking thrilled to see everyone. Claris looks exactly the same, hasn't changed a bit. Her son is adorable. He must look like his dad because he sure as heck doesn't take after her. Shameika and Shanecka both look much more sophisticated then they used to. They were all coiffed and ironed and looking fabulous. We spent most of the meal getting caught up, finding out where everyone lived, where they were working, what college they ended up graduating from. And of course there were jokes and laughter and all that other sentimental shit that people describe when they haven't seen someone in a long time. After dinner we drove out to a lounge in Park Slope where we met up with Karisha's boyfriend and the entourage that was celebrating HIS birthday. We had so much fun we decided we have to celebrate all of our birthdays this year.
I was surprised to find my mother still awake when I barged into her apartment at 2:00 AM. She told me Tina had called just after I'd left the house. I checked my cellphone and discovered I'd missed three phone calls from her during the course of the day. I said to my mother "The only reason Tina would call me four times in a day is if someone died."
When I called her this afternoon she told me her older brother was found dead in his apartment late Friday night.
It was a lovely evening despite the fact that we got underway two hours late thanks to the numerous wrong turns our entourage took on the way to Garden City. We had dinner at this buffet on Long Island. It was me, Elisabeth, Karisha, Camille, Shameika, Shanecka, Claris, and Claris's five year old son Dimitri who neither Karisha or I had ever met before. I remember talking to Claris on the phone the day after he was born and listening to him gurgle in her arms while we spoke. That was the last time she and I spoke before last night. Back in high school Claris, Karisha, Elisabeth and I were our own clique. We all stayed in contact for the first two years of college, then Claris got pregnant, dropped out of school, moved to Ohio, and the only person she ever called was Elisabeth. Karisha and I have spent the last five years getting all our information about Claris from Elisabeth. Claris moved back to the city...last year I think? We tried calling each other once or twice but getting a hold of her back while I was working night's at NYIT was damn near impossible.
Bottom line, I was fucking thrilled to see everyone. Claris looks exactly the same, hasn't changed a bit. Her son is adorable. He must look like his dad because he sure as heck doesn't take after her. Shameika and Shanecka both look much more sophisticated then they used to. They were all coiffed and ironed and looking fabulous. We spent most of the meal getting caught up, finding out where everyone lived, where they were working, what college they ended up graduating from. And of course there were jokes and laughter and all that other sentimental shit that people describe when they haven't seen someone in a long time. After dinner we drove out to a lounge in Park Slope where we met up with Karisha's boyfriend and the entourage that was celebrating HIS birthday. We had so much fun we decided we have to celebrate all of our birthdays this year.
I was surprised to find my mother still awake when I barged into her apartment at 2:00 AM. She told me Tina had called just after I'd left the house. I checked my cellphone and discovered I'd missed three phone calls from her during the course of the day. I said to my mother "The only reason Tina would call me four times in a day is if someone died."
When I called her this afternoon she told me her older brother was found dead in his apartment late Friday night.
