Girls Night

I’d been looking forward to this night out with Alice all week, and it did not disappoint.

First on the agenda was dinner at Madera in the Rosewood, which would normally be too scene-y for my taste when I want nothing more than to forget about work on a gorgeous Friday evening, butit’s Alice’s favorite restaurant (I think she has a crush on Reylon, the (very handsome) head chef) and this night was going to be about her, so I rolled with it. (And it really is so, so good. I tried to ignore everyone surrounding us who I either knew or thought I might know.)

Then we went next door to The Library & Bar — one of myfavorite places — for drinks. We miraculously managed to get a seat out on the terrace (OK maybe I pulled some strings … again, for Alice) and were able to finish up our convo from dinner about The Idiot (I will not speak his name, he’s just going to be The Idiot) who broke Alice’s heart after she slowly but surely fell for him over the past six months.

I had met The Idiot a few times, and I, too, had been fooled into thinking that he seemed perfect for her. They’d been set up through a friend, he was NOT in the tech industry (a teacher!), and while in retrospect I guess he might have felt a little out of place with our usual crowd, he treated Alice like the queen she is.

And then poof!He ended things, and she still has no idea why.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from her tonight. She’s not usually one to let her emotions rule, but over I knew she was hurting. What I got was a few tears at first, then some bewilderment, and then the defiant kick-ass woman I know emerged once again — still nursing her wounds, perhaps, but confident in who she is and the kind of partner she wants and deserves. 

We got approached by a couple of guys from Sequoia (the Rosewood is across the street from their office, it’s basically their canteen), but she was in no mood to flirt and I was annoyed that men even attempted to bust in on what was clearly a deep conversation we were having. Overall, we had a great, great time, talked late into the night, and then got another date down on the books that’s actually not months away for once. 

I know she’ll be OK, and I’m so happy we had this bonding time. But now there is a little voice in the back of my head asking, “If The Idiot seemed so wonderful for so long and then ghosted with no explanation, are either of us ever going to find someone we can truly trust?”