We went to New York over the holiday break. We drove up with someone from Lou’s class who was going home for vacation, and while we were there, we bought my sister’s MGB, although she agreed to payment terms over time, since she doesn’t have the title in hand now to sell it elsewhere.  I love the small convertible, but the color isn’t so wonderful – I think they call it mustard, but kind of looks like baby diarrhea. It is good to have wheels I don’t have to pedal.

While in Schenectady, we stayed at the Ramada where I used to work.  And I actually did work a few shifts while I was there, so I made a little money over vacation but more importantly, I got to spend time with Bruce. The hotel is pretty quiet over the holidays, and it was so great to see Bruce again, but it was really painful to have to leave.

We drove in our little car from Schenectady to Long Island to visit Lou’s mom and his sister for a few days, go to Nico’s engagement party, and attend another high school friend’s wedding, which happened to be nearby on the same day.  Somehow, Lou got into a huge argument with his mother. I don’t know what I did to piss her off but through the yelling I found out that she flat-out disliked me, and claimed that he kept looking at me when he spoke with her, as if he was seeking my approval or agreement rather than just talking to her directly. It was absolute insanity with nonsense screaming and yelling in both directions, and I was apparently invisible, because they both spoke as if I was not there. Bottom line, we were thrown out of the house. That night, we slept in the car in a seedy-looking park not far from his house in Elmont. The next day, we wandered around a mall to kill time, and then later changed our clothes in a gas station bathroom.  We made it to the wedding and spent time at both parties, but had to leave each of them early, ducking into a restroom on the way out to change back into jeans for the twelve-hour drive home.

It was an unimaginably bitter cold, windy night that would have made a polar bear stoke up a fire, and the car heater died.  The soft convertible top is loose and poorly sealed, allowing the frigid air to constantly blow through. The arctic weather stretched all the way down to North Carolina. The car provided little protection, and I shivered most of the way until reaching the warmth under the covers in our own bed.