Jeff and I went to see Tool. It was a secret show in small auditorium. We found great seats, sat down, and began watching the many tv screens around the room. Someone came on stage, we thought to start the show, but really just to bring up a mic stand. We decide to leave and come back.
It's good thing we left because I had agreed to marry my high school prom date on the beach later that day. I head to the beach and meet up with my sisters at the hotel. There was a ditch before the entrance of the hotel that would fill with sea water every minute or so, so you had to time your entrance just right. I crossed the ditch, a little wet, and found my room. I had to figure out what I was going to wear. I tried some white dresses, but decided on a dark blue flowered dress instead. It was time to head downstairs. In the elevator it occurred to me that maybe we should date before we just get married. I mean, I haven't talked to Rory in years...I haven't even talked to him today and we're getting married in 15 minutes.
I get downstairs, and realize that it's a mass wedding. Brides line up on one side of the circular altar, grooms on the other. They march towards the altar, kneel, some official words from Man At Altar and ta-da! happily ever after. I'm at the back of the line. It occurs to my that I didn't get a marriage license. Good thing there's this guy selling them behind this desk I'm conveniently standing next to. Monika takes care of the license thing. I'm now self-conscious about my choice of blue dress. No need to worry, I have to go...Tool's starting up again.
Back in the auditorium, we've lost our good seats. Jeff picks seats next to some loud, chatty women. I can't see the tvs. We decide to move back a few rows. I end up sitting next to Kristin, my best friend when I was six. An emcee appears and asks the audience some questions. Kristin begins to speak about when we are children, things adults find ordinary are amazing treasures. I'm folding a map of Oregon while she speaks, but I know EXACTLY what she means. On the screens, we're watching a time lapse video of tourists driving up to a Roman fountain in the middle of a busy roundabout in chariots lead by gladiator tour guides. The horses all have claws...like lion's feet. They pause at the fountain, get back in the chariots, turn the horses around and leave. A minute later, more arrive. This plays continuously. Kristin is now telling us all that she and her dad collected 700,000 pages of newspapers. More if you counted the pages that kept the other pages happy. She moves on to say that she can taste cigarettes in the air.
We all leave and Kristin and I stop to chat. I tell her that I didn't know that she smoked. She said she started during that whole Hollywood episode. She studied to be an actress, as did her sister Susan, another chain smoker. We are walking up the stairs to her apartment now. Susan studied opera. I tell her that if she's interested in participating in the puppet opera, I know a guy. Kristin says "no, thanks." We're in her apartment now but she needs to feed the cat, so she opens a secret panel in the floor. Of course.
The end.
