The Day I Hosted The Bonfire

It's good to hear Jenny's voice. She's out in Montana drinking margaritas with her mom, telling me about the new puppy and the book she stayed up all night reading. I'm sitting on my bed looking out the window at 17th as Iven drives by once, twice, three times trying to find parking. 

At deVere's, Iven's glad they have soccer on TV as we drink our beer and talk about getting an apartment. I'd be way more capable of moving out immediately if I didn't have dental costs digging their claws into my bank account. We'll see how that all works out. "End of the year, at the latest," I say. 

The fire-pit stays cold for a while as guests start to arrive, since it's still about eighty degrees outside even with the sun setting. Kelly and Shaun get there first. Jessica, Nick and Ashley come next. After that, the order of arrival becomes hazy. We discuss the "shade of atoms" concept but it doesn't impress the sober minds and I let Shaun explain the "sharing of atoms" concept but we lost them with "empty space." The philosophical is replaced with the tangible: what the hell is Old Soul going to do without Lucky? This leads to a little bit of Cody-bashing, who is technically the replacement roaster, and no one at Old Soul likes the guy because he's rubbed them the wrong way at least once. I feel guilty for not having something bad to say because these are my friends and they collectively dislike someone I have no problem with. Yet. 

But anyway, more people start showing up and I get around to lighting the fire, and in the background I've put on Top Gun with a classy music playlist, and on the back table I've put out the makings for s'mores.

The first time I hosted a bonfire without Jenny, it felt like a mess. Not that I was any more sober this time around, but I certainly felt like this one went a lot better. The guests were varied and talkative, mostly, except for new-girl Megan and her friend, the both of whom just sort of sat by the fire and did very little. Megan, I found out, used to live in my room about 3 years ago. I was hoping to help her get acclimated with the current Old Soul scene, at least. The regulars mixed with a handful of new faces. It was what it was meant to be: a place for familiar strangers to become friends. The full guest list included: Iven, Shaun, Kelly, Nick and Ashley, Jessica, Samir and Sarah, Alan, Bobby and Lilly, Laura, Kasha, Drew, Jenn and Nick, Daniel, Brendan, Sonya and Brandt (not Brett), John Johnson, Brooke, John and Amy, Max and Kat with baby Evelyn, Pete and Sammy, Julie Anne with her date and, of course, Murphy the dog. 

I remember Nick and Shaun and I discussing the power of love to change plans. Making s'mores with Reese's bars. When the music died. I remember telling John Johnson he missed his chance to meet Jenny since he's moving to Seattle on the 31st. Then John, other John, wondered if he might apply for the Old Soul roasting position, though he and Amy want to move to Portland. I found out Sonya and Brandt want to move to San Francisco "before we have to be grown ups and have kids and all that." I was pleased to see Kasha talking to Bobby, Lilly and their friend, Laura about being a long-term teacher. I got to hold baby Evelyn, five-weeks-old, which blew my mind, and hear Max and Kat talk about life with a newborn. Beautiful baby. There was plenty of herb and alcohol and almost all of it was gone by the end of the night. Everyone got along swimmingly. I never felt pressured to keep the night rolling because it was capable of moving on its own. I remember Bobby telling me about the literary journal he's involved with. Drew came by after work and went straight to Kasha. Yesterday, Brooke found out her boyfriend had been living a double-life after discovering a phone charger in their bedroom that didn't belong to either of their phones. Poor girl. I felt bad. Some people I didn't really get to talk to. Some stayed for only a little while, some stayed for the whole night. I didn't take down the projector until well after one in the morning. The guests filtered out of the gate and I went up to my room, plopped down in my bed and passed out before I realized I was fully clothed.

In the morning I was slightly hungover. I got a response from the Peace Corps Pre-Service Unit about my dental question (How perfect do you need my teeth to be?) and they said they go by the dentist's recommendation, which means if my dentist thinks it's okay to send me into the third-world with a few cavities and some wisdom teeth, then the Peace Corps will go along with it. So the question is how much of my Treatment Plan can I leave untreated and still get a good recommendation from Dr. Steele? I called the dentist and made an appointment for 4:00pm on Monday. Guess I'll find out.

- Left to Fry