Walking from Logan’s house to the park is often an indicator of how the evening is going to unfold. Mike dropped the meat twice, Seth forgot the long bbq lighter, Logan insisted on bringing her blender to make margaritas, and I cut the pole* and didn’t realize it, so I had to walk back a block to fix it while everyone else kept walking. This is a normal bbq introduction. It’s when everything is just right that we all begin to worry. I wonder if now we sabotage ourselves and forget things just to ensure a high quality get together.

            After borrowing a lighter, and an extension cord, we were up and running with chicken breasts, hot dogs, and blended margaritas. This is a much needed mini-vacation for me. Work was horrible. No one’s making money so they’re not tipping and now I’m not making money. Beyond that my mother asked me where I wanted to be in five years. It scared the shit out of me because I realized that I didn’t know. I do know, however, I can’t still be living there, but that’s not a good enough start to planning where I’m going to be and what I’m going to be doing by my twenty-eighth birthday.

            Mike has an audition tomorrow for a student film from USC. It’s for the part of a high school jock in a gritty short about the geek getting the girl. He showed me a sample, but I told him he was trying too hard, and that he should relax and let things come naturally. Now I’m the bad guy who said he was the typical jock. Aren’t women supposed to be the only ones who read into things? And speaking of which, he’s been very attentive to Logan, ‘Can I help you make the margaritas?’ ‘Do you want me to fix your plate?’ She must have really put it on him, though he didn’t put it on her.

            Logan’s already had three drinks and we’ve been here maybe an hour and fifteen minutes. This is typical ‘forget about Andrew’ behavior. I’ve learned to let Logan do her own thing because trying to stop her only yields a blatant disregard, whereas going with it allows her to acknowledge her own wrong doing and she’ll cut herself off. It’s funny watching Mike cater to her while she just ignores it.

            Seth and I had a very intense talk about books and the future of print in the evolving technology age. All the while he stayed on his phone texting and updating his facebook. I sure wish I could multi task like that. Moreover, who was he talking to? ‘One of these fee’s trying to make it happen.’ Who are you? I was dying to have that conversation with him, but of course I began to feel my buzz and decided against saying something I would regret.

            Two hours and four drinks later Logan pulls me to the side and said she needed to show me something. Please not her nipple piercing again. She reached down into her bag and pulled out a college catalogue.

‘You’re enrolling this semester.’

‘Man, you know how I feel about school.’

‘Yeah, but I’m not going to let you throw your life or talents away.’

‘What do you expect me to take?’

‘Creative writing and story building, and they’re both the same days and times as my classes so we can carpool.’

When Logan really wants something she has this insane drive to make it happen and going against her is literally pointless.

‘Ok’

            It had been a good day. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Seth, but by the third hour he put his cell on silent chilled and with us. Mike got over the snub I never intentionally made and got a milf’s number who was having her three-year-old son’s birthday. Logan had cut herself off early and was enjoying life, and I had gone over the catalogue and was excited about exploring my professional writing dreams one course at a time. Everything was great until…Andrew showed up.

            Talk about a buzz kill. Logan quickly began packing up her blender and Mike immediately asked if she wanted him to ‘handle it’. At any rate, Seth and I were innocent bystanders with one goal, keep the peace. The faster we packed up, the faster Andrew walked across the grass. He reached us in less that a minute. Seth and I gave a cordial hello, which Andrew returned and re-focused his attention on Logan. Of course Mike wanted to be the hero.

Macho Mike, ‘Hey man, what are you doin’ over here?’

Angry Andrew, ‘I’ve been trying to get a hold of Logan for the past week and her roommates said she was here.’

Logan grabs her blender and starts walking away, ‘Not now Andrew. You’ll receive a call from me when I don’t hate you!’

Mike, ‘That means she doesn’t want to talk right now but-

Andrew, ‘I know what the fuck that means man. No disrespect, but I don’t need the translation, I want to talk to my girlfriend.’

With that Mike looked stunned, Andrew looked suspicious, and Seth and I felt awkward. I ran to catch up to Logan while Seth attempted to diffuse the high levels of testosterone.

I love bbq’s.

*(when a group of people are walking by a pole and everyone walks on one side while one or more people walk on the other side, they’ve ‘cut’ the pole and need to go back to prevent something bad from happening.)

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