Poop Shute

ZIPPITY-DOO-DAH!!

Some of you are aware of certain lifestyle choices that Meg and I have made. Some of you are not.

For those not in-the-know, here's a little FYI:

We've been seeing somebody together. And I don't mean a therapist.

For the better part of the past couple months we have been spending a great deal of time with our friend Noel. At first I think it was mainly physical attraction that brought us together. We knew very little about her, and she knew very little about us. The first things we knew were we were all three attracted to each other, and we had crazy-stupid amounts of fun together. As time went on we learned more and more about each other and lately we have been kind of inseparable.

Underlying all of this has been a tension that I think had a small part of each of us a little on edge. We all sensed that something was developing, but nobody seemed eager to talk about exactly what that something was. Thank god for that pungent social lubricant we call alcohal.

Last night Noel and I went out dancing with our crew. Meg was tuckered out early, so stayed in. After a handful of tequila shots (six total for me) we weren't drunk, but pretty good and buzzed. At about 1:30 a handful of Tempe cops started strolling through the club. I thought it was strange, but it didn't seem that remarkable. Then they started randomly carding people all around us! There were about four of them within ten feet of us. I leaned down to Noel and said simply "Cops. We should go wait by the car." She didn't understand why at first. I pointed out that she probably didn't want to get caught with a fake ID. Noel is underage. If the bouncer catches you, worst that happens is you don't get in the club, but a cop catching you comes with a hefty fine. She agreed. Casually and quietly we headed out the door... where there were about another eight cops! We must have looked relaxed enough that we didn't arouse their suspicion, because we walked right past them.

Back at the car we had a good half hour before the crew came to meet us, and the tequila had loosened me up just enough to take the dangerous risk. That risk of asking the question that was hanging over all our heads: "what is going on here?"

Those weren't my exact words, but that is what it amounted to. To my surprise Noel began to talk in a long meandering stream-of-conciousness that went through everything from her friends reactions to our little trio, and what they are like and how well they know her, and vice versa. I listened to every word, not sure where she was going, but going along for the ride anyway.

Somewhere along the way, she mentioned an email that her best friend had sent her, and how she replied. She kept referring to it in conversation, but she wouldn't give any specific details. I got the idea that it pissed her off, but I had no idea what it said, or what her reply said. After the second or third time she referred to it, she reached into a notebook and pulled out a printout of both emails, and without any prompting from me put them both in my hands.

I read the best friend's letter with quiet indignation. Only once did I blurt out "that's bullsh*t!" The gist of the letter was that the friend was accusing Noel of intruding into an area she did not belong, and could never hope to belong and she would only get herself (and possibly Meg and I) hurt. The part that made me yell out loud was when she said "This is about them and you. And you will never. Never. Never. Be one of them."

After I finished that first letter I told Noel that her friend is just ignorant to our circumstances, and can't possibly know what she is talking about, but more importantly Noel is just as much one of "us" as she wants to be. She said she knew that, and told me to read her reply.

It was about a page and a half letter and about halfway through page one I had tears running down my face. She defended what we have as ferociously as a mother bear defending her cubs. In that letter she said everything that the three of us have been feeling for weeks now, but had been incapable of saying out loud. And she said it clearer and stronger than I think either Meg or I could have. Anger can be quite a whet stone for sharpening one's tongue.

I went to bed grinning uncontrollably. Today I took Meg to lunch to share with her the events she missed. She went back to work with the same uncontrollable grin on her face.

When you are on the same page with someone that you share part of yourself with, life is good. When you are on the same page with two such people, it is doubly so.