So I need to recount the details of last weekend, for you and for me. Posterity and all that, you know. And you’re getting the full, unabridged version that most people aren’t (after you read it, you’ll know what I’m choosing to gloss over).

I drove to Columbus on Friday morning so I could work in that office for the day. I have some responsibilities up there and hadn’t been in the office for a while, so it gave me the perfect excuse to head up early for my three day weekend (we got Monday off). Work was fine, the day went quickly and I was at the boyfriend’s house before 7:00 p.m. As is our usual Friday routine, we stayed in and fixed dinner while catching up and drinking wine. This time, dinner was two very yummy Amy’s Kitchen frozen pizzas and two very large bottles of merlot.

And when I say large, I mean it. They were those double 1.5 liter bottles that equaled two regular sized bottles. Meaning we basically had four bottles of wine. For two people. And we drank just a shade under all of it.

Yup, I got hammered.

The boyfriend, on the other hand, weighs a good hundred pounds more than I do so he was not as affected as I by the onslaught of alcohol. Regardless, the evening progressed and we ended up in his office on his computers - he surfing the internet, me checking email and reading journals. Two of my favorite journals had updated with Valentine entries about their husbands and when I started reading one of them to the boyfriend, I couldn’t get through it without crying. It was so wonderful I could only point at the screen with one hand and hold onto his with the other. He didn’t think me stupid or silly. He just kissed my cheek and poured more wine.

I don’t remember how the topic first came up (see fourth paragraph from top), but he got it in his head that we should go to Vegas on Sunday so he started looking at deals online. It sounded crazy to me, but considering the state I was in (see fourth paragraph from top), I was along for the surfing and even joined in, checking out various sites for packages. I guess reality kicked in for him or he just knew I wasn’t completely sold about the whole thing, because he wound down and eventually went to bed. I, on the other hand, stayed up for awhile longer, drinking more wine (which would come back to haunt me) and searching online for a song from Keb’ Mo’s new album. But when the screen got too blurry to read, I bagged it and went to bed, too.

So getting up the next morning? Not fun. I had a headache the minute I opened my eyes. While I didn’t feel terribly awful, things were just not right. But I got up around 10:30 a.m.ish, brushed my teeth and made my way downstairs. I sat on the couch watching my new favorite show Clean Sweep and feeling sorry for myself for being stupid enough to drink all that wine. I ate an apple, took some Tylenol and felt good enough to agree to go out to lunch with the boyfriend. While he was in the shower, my friend called to make plans for the next day and as I was talking to her, I was hit with the absolute certainty that I was going to throw up. Gads. So I put a quick end to our conversation (“I’ll call you tomorrow!”) and ran upstairs to the (one and only) bathroom. The boyfriend had just turned off the shower and was about to step out when I whizzed past him, throwing a quick pre-emptive apology over my shoulder before hovering my head above the toilet in preparation for the inevitable.

And the inevitable happened as it inevitably does.

(Quick gross aside – I was happy that I’d only eaten an apple. The inevitable really wasn’t bad at all when that’s the only thing coming up.)

As is often the case, I immediately felt better after that, even though I still had the headache, and proceeded to dress for lunch. We went to one of our favorite restaurants and had a nice meal with pita, hummus and wrap sandwiches. I had a wave or two of nausea, didn’t eat a whole lot and was freezing (as we were next to a drafty window), but all in all I did okay.

Earlier, he had suggested a walk outside as it was a sunny and warm(er) day. I was definitely up for some fresh air, so we went to a nearby park. He led us around a bit before we ended up on a bridge spanning the pond, half of which was frozen while the other half had a fountain and at least a hundred ducks. He said something about tying his shoe so he stopped, got down on one knee...

- to be continued -