Birthday Party Retribution

The evil plan to get our Keene friend down here so we could spring a birthday celebration on him went without a hitch yesterday.  He took Buddy out for his obligatory morning walk – something Buddy holds him to whenever he visits.  When they got back we gave our friend his birthday card – Buddy even delivered one himself.  We awaited a drunk phone call from a mutual friend in Pittsburgh that never came - must have been a hell of a tailgating party.  I got our friend out of the house so my wife could prepare a bunch of food without raising suspicions.  We went to see Resident Evil:  Retribution.  Somehow I didn’t think I could have convinced my wife to go see this movie on date night – could be the zombie apocalypse milieu (just guessing).  The movie was non-stop action and they brought back virtually every cast member from the previous six, seven, however many there have been.  This movie is never going to win any dramatic acting awards but Milla seems to be holding up well.  It is what it is which was fine for a Saturday afternoon escape.  We went back to the house and were watching some college football when my sister and her family showed up followed shortly by some of the wife’s other in laws.  The well documented fear of crossing borders kept my sister’s sister in law from attending.  She sent instead a series of wide ranging excuses planted with everybody from Rhode Island who did attend, hoping one would ring true.  It was the entry statement from everybody that came in so you knew they were set up by the phobia wracked missing sibling. It was a glorious late summer day out on the deck and we settled in back there while I threw some chicken and burgers on the grill.  The conversation was so much fun that I mistakenly actually cooked my brother in law’s chicken.  Usually he takes it extremely undercooked but a couple bottles of wine assuaged the poor display of culinary sensitivity on my part.  My sister’s dog, Bailey, also attended and he and Buddy enjoyed a romp in the back yard until they interrupted the neighbor’s little girls’ play time.  They were then confined to the deck where Buddy soon tried low crawling under the table to sneak food away.  It was nice to see the surprise on my friend’s face when all these people showed up in his honor but they think the world of him even though they only see him occasionally – he has that effect.  As the sun set we moved inside and continued the banter.  This was a collection of some of my favorite people in the world and it was fun just sitting around and talking; something that can get too rare if you let it.  My sister recently sent her son away for college for the first time and she and my brother in law were rediscovering that subtle freedom that comes back, willingly abandoned with the arrival of parenthood.  As the evening wound down, my sister committed to driving home and Buddy fell into an exhausted sleep right at my feet.  I know how he felt – contentment and too much of a good time (is that even possible?) will do that to you.

Buddy Delivering a Birthday Card to His Favorite Walker

The Gang Out Back

The Rest of the Gang

Of Course There Was a Cake
(and beer!)

Buddy and Bailey Before their Transgression

Buddy Low Crawling Hoping Nobody Notices him Closer to the Food