...That's What She Said

I drove down to Port St. Lucie to share Thanksgiving dinner with my grandmother, my mother, her pirate and an old friend of the family that I hadn't seen since I was a teenager. Her name is Betsy and I always thought she was a friend of my father and stepmother's as she was around for a good portion of my childhood. I spent one summer with her in a castle on the beach in Key Largo. Those weeks make up one of my favorite childhood memories. As it turns out, she was actually my mother's best friend from high school, but that was a well kept secret... so I expected to feel weird being at Betsy's house with my newly found mother for the very first time. This was not the case however, and I cheerily helped in the kitchen and chatted over a glass of wine by the pool after the meal. I then had the pleasure of taking grandma home, where I spent the night. She enjoyed having my dog and I around for company, so I took her constant critiques of my driving and mention of my unmarried status with stride, knowing that just my presence was the highlight of her month. One of my worst fears is ending up the same... an old, bitter, grumpy, lonely hermit of a woman who has nothing better to do then watch the news and the neighbors. Anyway, the next day, I got to chill with grandma some more while we awaited the arrival of my mother and the pirate. We had reservations at my mother's favorite seafood restaurant (anyone who knows me will know how thrilled I was with the menu). It was after the arrival at Conchy Joe's that Thanksgiving got ugly. Instance number one occurred when Mom and Pirate left the table for a smoke break and Grandma and I got into a debate over the ban of smoking from restaurants. I simply stated that it made sense because even with the divided sides, the smoke still made its way over to the non-smoking side and it wasn't fair to the people who choose not to breathe smoke into their lungs. Her argument was that only smokers get picked on and she wanted the government to ban inappropriate dancing in public places because it made her ill. Though I tried to argue that cancer causing smoke and drunk people dry humping on a dance floor were wrong for two entirely different reasons, she refused to hear a word of it. Round two came about when Mom and Grandma left for smoke break number two... and I was left alone with the pirate as I finished my drink and waited on the check. He'd been trying his best to be friendly toward me and used this moment to ask me why I said I didn't think it was a good idea for them to announce their engagement to my grandmother over Thanksgiving dinner. I started off by explaining that we're not exactly over the loss of my mother's late husband, all of this had happened rather suddenly and ended by crying right in front of him. *Sigh* I left for the car and we all had an unusually quiet ride home. I suppose my mother has since been informed that I'm not thrilled with the idea. I've been supportive for the most part during our phone calls because I do want her to be happy... but for reasons I cannot share here, it just isn't right. I hope that one day it will be... and now I must find a way to make amends for unintentionally hurting his feelings. I only have two weeks to sort things out in my head because I have to fly down there for a weekend and drive the PT Loser back home before the lease ends on my Audi. Speaking of, I need to stop being so materialistic and making fun of the biggest gift anyone has ever given me in my life... a free car. I never thought I'd become spoiled... but sometimes spending money on the wrong things will do that to a person. I think driving my mother's old car around for a while is going to be a humbling experience. I hope it gets be back on the right track... even if it's a slower one.