April 22, 2006

10:43 p.m.

Quick Little Getaway and Back

Two days went by in a flash. I'm glad I went, though I didn't sleep very well in the little guesthouse. It was, however, a block from Wholefoods, so I shopped there twice in 24 hours. Hey, Edensoy for $1.89 -- unheard of.

Dar and I had some fabulous meals, in between his having to work and do shows. Last night we ate at Legal Seafood and then caught about 15 minutes of a dress rehearsal of a Cleopatra parody -- put on by a much-revered and thoroughly irreverent gay theatre company. It was quite cute, though we'd had a whole evening already and were both getting tired. The theatre is in the basement of a bar. I used the loo on the way out; only the Women's was open, as the rest of the hallway was roped off as "backstage." So there was a line of men and women leading out the door, and when I got inside I noticed that every other stall was stencilled in big, red letters: "1 OCCUPANT AT A TIME -- STRICTLY ENFORCED." I WISHED I'd had my camera. I'd have looked like a Compleat Tourist, but what the hell.

We walked through the Victory Gardens on the way back to my lodging. Daffodils and pansies were showing in the bright but creepy street lights, though everything else still looked pretty wintered over. I wished I had a victory garden. They're from the war and they're free; you just have to sign up for one if it comes available. Each one is fenced off, and some put trees in theirs, or little tables and chairs, or walkways, or statuary; I didn't see any likely vegetable patches, but then, it's not wartime any more. I just wanted to grow and harvest something, to have "a bit of earth," as the girl says in The Secret Garden. (Wasn't that a wonderful movie and book?)

Today we met with Ducky for an excellent Thai lunch and then saw Dar's very silly show. It had grown cold by then and I'd done a lot of walking up and down Newbury Street already, passing time while Dar finished up some accounts. Ducks kindly drove us back to Wholefoods, where I did my second shopping, and Dar walked me back to my car. With his help I found 90 West easily. Normally, I don't drive anywhere near Boston because I've had so many terrible experiences getting lost and having no place to pull over and look at a map. This time I was prepared and, though I got a little turned around in Copley Plaza on the way in, did find my way through the incredible traffic to the guesthouse on my own. Getting back to the highway was quick, and the ride home was uneventful except for missing my exit off 395 because I was trying very hard to remember exactly how the 2nd and 4th lines of the original Star Trek theme music went. I think I'd come pretty close by the time I realized my exit was 6 exits ago. That was okay, though; I looped back and took Rt. 14 home. It meanders so beautifully through Canterbury, and Scotland, and Windham. I drooled over all the big, historic houses on either side of the road, and wished I could afford one. I wondered what my life would be like if I had hooked up with some fun, prosperous guy and settled down into a nice homey existence.

You see, I talked to Joan, my actress friend, the other night -- we hadn't spoken in months -- and for the first time since I've known her she is brilliantly happy. She found someone I'm suspecting is The Guy for her, and he's built a house in upstate NY and she's probably going to move there in a few months. I told her I have Happily Ever After envy. She even went Kayaking with him, which is a scream if you know Joan -- she's about as nature-loving as Edina from AbFab. But she had a blast. "I'm outdoorsey!" she cried over the phone. "Alert the media!"

But I haven't met a fun, prosperous guy that I could stand for any length of time, so it's a moot question, really. Actually, I haven't met a fun, prosperous guy, period. I've had a penchant for actors and musicians who are as financially at risk as I. And one monetarily stable fellow who leaves mouse poop on his kitchen counters and will no longer vacuum the dog hair off the couch for me. And a couple of others who didn't want me in the first place, so I never had a chance to rule them out for any of the above reasons. And then there's dear Dar, of course, with whom things would be logistically strange even if I did want to be his mate, which, sadly, I don't.

Bugger.

I'd better become a successful writer and healer, that's all I can say. If this is what I've got, let me make the most of it. Please.