I had a pretty quiet day at work. Nothing too stressful. I wasn’t too busy in the morning or afternoon. I’ve kind of caught up on the resumes, but the weekends are when the most are sent, so Mondays and Tuesdays are always the hardest.
Most of my day was spent worrying about Eric. The movers were coming at noon and I was just hoping everything was going well and that he was alright. It turns out everything went very smoothly and when I spoke to him in the afternoon he sounded very quiet, but we were both looking forward to our night tonight with Elsa and Stephen.
When I got home it looked so strange. Eric’s massage chair was gone, as well as all the boxes that had been in the dining room for weeks. Also, most of the boxes are gone from the 2nd bedroom. It’s practically empty. Eric was in a pretty good mood. I think he realizes this is really happening and, although he still wonders if he’s doing the right thing, at this point he knows he has to go.
I can’t believe we will only be together until next Tuesday. I’m going to try to take Monday off, so we can have a nice three-day weekend together before I drive him to the airport on Tuesday morning.
It was so weird to be with Elsa and Stephen all night and not say anything, but I just feel it would bring the mood down, and complicate the evening. We picked them up a little after 6:00pm and drove to Humphrey’s By The Bay, which is in Point Loma.
It’s a very small, intimate outdoor venue. They had a huge buffet set up with tables and chairs all around. Unfortunately, all the tables and chairs were taken, so we had to stand at a tall table to eat, and then sat on a low wall with a great view of the band. They had such an unbelievable assortment of food. When Elsa sent me the email, it said they had “complimentary hors d’oeuvres while they last.” I had no idea what that meant, but I certainly wasn’t expecting much.
They had a huge table with all kinds of cheese, crackers, bread, fruit and pastries. Then, they had stuffed mushrooms, breaded shrimp, a platter of poached salmon, mini tacos, chicken wings, fried wontons, pasta salad, chips and salsa, ribs, several other chicken dishes, and more! We walked around filling our plates and then walked around some more! Everything was really good. We were all shocked and impressed by the amount, quality and diversity of food they had.
You also got a blue ticket when you came in for a free drink. I had a melon martini, which was very sweet, but a little too strong for my taste. Elsa and Stephen had wine and Eric had a seltzer.
The group playing is called STEELY DAMNED and they’re a STEELY DAN tribute band. They played for at least an hour before taking a break and then played for a while more. They played most of our favorites – REELIN’ IN THE YEARS (which I sang with my band), RICKY DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER, and many others. Eric and I love STEELY DAN and saw the actual band play at the BEACON a year or two ago.
We had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. The weather was perfect (as ususal), the ambiance was really pretty, right on the bay with tons of boats in the water, because the marina is right there. It was very romantic, with tiny lights strung all around. I have some pictures, but it’s too late for me to download and upload!
When Eric and I can have such a lovely night together, holding hands, laughing with friends, it seems impossible to me that he could be leaving, that he could be so unhappy here, yet he is. I don’t know how he manages to perk up when we’re around other people, but he can do it. Tomorrow he may be unable to get out of bed, but for tonight he was fine. I guess that’s depression – you have your moments, but it doesn’t last.
Anyway, it was a beautiful night and I am so glad we have this memory of his last days in San Diego. These last days will have to carry us for a few months, until we are together again in November.