Flying

The men arrived around 1:00 pm. They came in shooting nerf guns, but they had checked with Tom first so he knew the plan. As a result the boys were not caught unaware. Riley had his own nerf gun hidden under his blankets on the couch and Trevor leaped out from behind a door. Tom had a squirt gun he used from the balcony.

I had left to pick up The requested movie for the night at the library, The good the Bad and The Ugly. I came home to pools of water and hundreds of orange nerf turds on the floor. Everyone had huge grins on their faces. They loaded the boys into cars and headed out to the air field where they had arranged to have Riley taken up in a small two seater experimental plane the pilot had built himself. Tom said he was glad I wasn't with them at that point. He wasn't even sure it was a bright idea, but how could he say no. The boys were grinning ear to ear.

Riley went up first for about 40 minutes. The pilot allowed him to take the stick. He was to told it is very gentle like holding your girlfriend's hand. He said he could feel the plane respond. He said it felt like just ten minutes when he landed. He said he would do it again. It was worth repeating.

Trevor went next, even though I had warned him I wasn't sure that he would get to do it. This was about Riley's wish and his health. Trevor understood, but he was thrilled at the opportunity when it presented itself. Riley said Trevor almost balked at getting into the plane at first though. It is a little disconcerting. The plane is tiny. Tom said it had the word experimental emblazoned on its tail fins.

One of the wives of the men was also coming down, but she was staying at another hotel so she wouldn't interfere with this testosterone filled weekend. She called and invited me to join her and her daughters . She got to town while the men were still at the airport. I was able to leave before they got home so I also could be out of the way of their plans.

They played a game of made up bingo/jeopardy with special prizes for everyone. I meanwhile got to go to the spa and have a pedicure and manicure with one of my dearest friends. We went to dinner on the water. The restaurant had a jazz band playing. We were the last table to leave at the end of the evening.

On the way into town my girlfriend had had a flat tire and had spent the afternoon with AAA and then at two tire stores trying to get a replacement. She shared the tale with the waiter during dinner. At the end of our dinner he brought us fancy liqueurs for dessert with his compliments.
It was a lovely evening all together.

Tom has known one of these friends since grade school and the others since college. They knew Tom when he was married to his first wife. They knew Tom when he was divorced from his first wife. They introduced Tom and me and ended up as grooms men and bride's maid at our wedding. One of them being best man for introducing us. He had been a part of Tom's first wedding also.

So, these guys go way back. We used to have huge parties and rent houses at the coast or the mountains. Once children started appearing our activities were curtailed by our children's activities and sports. This weekend was so much fun.

Day two the women had a lovely buffet breakfast at the hotel and then we headed to the Japanese gardens for inspiration. I am definitely putting more rhodies and other plants in my yard. Perhaps a couple water features, also. then we went to one of the shopping districts and browsed. Her teen age daughters are beautiful and skinny, size zero. We stopped at all these youthful boutiques. I enjoyed hanging with them, but other than some scented soaps I did not purchase much. We had a lovely lunch , then I had to head home as the men had a late afternoon tee time. We can run errands and leave Riley, but we shouldn't be across town thirty minutes away. And my neighbors were all gone for the long weekend, no back up.

My sister joined me with her family for dinner. My girlfriend was going to explore the city. It was nice to have a female around so I didn't feel I had to hide upstairs, out of the way. I had bought alcohol for the weekend for everyone and as a thank you for coming to visit and setting up the weekend.

Well, my sister and I tied one on in the corner. The plan was to watch Animal house after the men got back from golf and had dinner. Trevor was shooting the TV screen with his nerf gun. I had been told that this was the movie that got one of our friends to go to college. Its their favorite. I believe it. They were egging my boys on, Flounder and Boon.

So, Tory and I tucked ourselves out of the way and enjoyed the live entertainment. The next day though, Tom and I didn't get out of bed. We recuperated. I think Tom was in better shape than I was. I remember again why I wasn't drinking anymore.

My niece spent the night. I was grateful for her. She kept the boys entertained all day so there were no battles or fights. I drove her home in the evening when I finally felt like I could be mobile in an upright position for a while. What a fun weekend. I got to do chick things totally distracted from the main event. I was not thrilled about the plane, but I knew the boys would love it.

Tom did tell his friends that if something happened, someone had better shoot him so he wouldn't have to face me. All is well that ends well.