Last night was good. It was fun. I would definitely do it again, but something wasn't quite settling. Of course, I realize what thoughts and feelings could be arising from last night, but I bury them. I bury them six feet under. I let them rest in peace, amen.

I just remind myself that Thomas and I are friends. Platonic friends who are in this to find happiness, and I'd say we have! So far, everything we have done is something I would certainly like to do again. Cloud watching with friends, reading with friends, writing with friends, cooking with friends, drawing with friends. I can also do all of this on my own too! It's a win-win!

There is nothing to think about as I make myself some eggs and toast even when Thomas texts me about playing board games tonight. Why not?

* * *

The day goes by slowly as I decide to read more of my mystery thriller, which I end up getting in about 100 more pages until I decide to stop for lunch. After lunch, I decide to go out and stop at the cafe for a drink, where I read some more, but I also work on some of my crossword puzzles. Yeah, I'm mixing it up today.

After I'm done at the cafe, I stop by the library, where I chat with Marie about the story I am currently reading. I ask her about how she is doing, and what's going on with her? She informs me that things are going well, but the library is getting busier as the summer encroaches and as schools start to let out. We talk about what she's reading, and we lose all track of time until an older patron asks her for some help. She excuses herself, telling me we should talk more.

It's at that moment, Thomas appears. He's pulling a cart behind him to help with shelving the books I assume when he asks me how am I doing? I tell him that I'm doing good and what I did all day. What he takes from what I told him is that he should recommend all books to me since I've been enjoying this mystery thriller so far. I burst his bubble by reminding him that Marie is actually the one who helped me choose this book, and his only victory is that I chose this book after my terrible beach romance. Thomas shrugs as he says a win is a win.

I ask about how he is doing, and he tells me things are going okay at the library, and he's just busy. He tells me he still forgets some things when helping people or when he has to handle certain technology, but I assure him that it's fine, and I bet everyone is understanding considering he is still relatively new, and I bet some of his responsibilities take much longer than six months to master. 

He appreciates my encouragement, and he asks me when he should come over for board games later. I tell him 6:30 should be fine. I ask him if he wants to eat something at my place, but he says he'll stop and have something. He asks me what games I have at my apartment. I tell him how I don't actually have that many, but I have a chess set and a deck of cards. The look of horror that graces Thomas's face is something to behold. You'd think I told him I was going to attack his family.

Thomas says we need to push back the time to 7:00, so he can bring "real" games from his apartment. I fight the urge to say that you don't need games to play with anyone when you refuse to see anyone, but that's a bit too far, and we haven't really gotten into the whole part of my life yet. That's a level three friendship pass that he has not cleared yet.

Thomas and I part ways as he is called to do something, and I head back to Starling park, where I go on a long walk, taking in all that is surrounding me. There is certainly a lot more than just the area where Thomas and I pulled in. I walk in the opposite direction of where I went for cloud watching, and I find myself on a wooded trail that slowly wraps itself around the park. There are little ponds here and there with the cutest ducks in the world. The ground is covered in squirrels running all around, avoiding people from every direction. I walk for about 15 minutes before I make my way back.

The park itself is quite beautiful, and I conclude that I will be walking in the park more often in the future. I'll have to remember to pack sunscreen for next time though.

I head back into my car, making the short trip back home. Once I am home, I make a few calls, where I call mom, dad, Charlotte, and Sophie. With mom, dad, and Charlotte, I don't share much, but I ask how they're doing. Nothing to report from them, but as usual, mom is mad that I waited so long to call her. 

She says a week has gone since I last called her, which sounds ridiculous since I swear I called her sooner than that. I check my previous calls, and I tell her that we talked on Monday. We talked about doing errands, getting groceries, doing laundry, and dressing well for the grand opening in two days. Despite me telling her all the information she shared with me before, she decides that this is the perfect time to repeat everything she said before but with much more anticipation and concern considering the grand opening is on Friday. 

I let her lecture and rant considering I miss her. Of course, you can suddenly miss your mom any time of day, but with grief, it hits so much more deeply, where you feel the need to love and treasure people in the moment, which right now, is my mom.

"I miss you."

Mom goes silent instantly as I hear alarms ringing her head.

"No need to panic, I just miss you, mom. It would be nice to see you."

"Well, you're the one who decided to move two hours away, so you could be closer to Charlotte and her town. We should set a date to come see you. I'll talk to your father about when he is available. I know this weekend and next weekend will probably be busy for you, but we can come whenever. You don't need to host us like some esteemed guests. Tell us when to come, and we'll come."

"Thanks, mom."

Mom continues her rant as she talks about all that I will need to do this Friday and how I won't have to tell her all of the details right away, but I should still do it soon since I might forget something if I wait too long. I assure her that I will help her in a timely manner when we say our love yous and goodbyes.

With my dad and Charlotte, it is a short conversation that is summed up as, "Work is work. We should make a date to see each other." I inform dad about mom already planning on coming after the chaos settles. Charlotte and I talk about setting up another date for dinner or coffee.

Sophie is a short and quick phone call as well, but she mostly explains the last pieces going into the bakery, getting the treats ready, and making sure the staff is all on board. She talks about expectations for Friday, and she tells me she doesn't expect much for Saturday, but to make sure our online presence is known. That comes with sharing all of the good news and consumerism from Friday. She tells me that Terry and her will go over more details before the opening.

With all the calls out of the way, evening is on its way.

* * *

I make myself some dinner while I watch some TV, waiting for Thomas to stop over. I'm in the middle of watching House Chasers when I hear a knock on my door. I shout that I'm coming, and Thomas greets me with bags full of various games. Some games I have played, some games I have not.

He slips off his shoes before he takes everything to the table. He talks about bringing out my chess set and my deck of cards. I somehow doubt that we will even use them when he has just bought an army's worth of games. But we do. We play every single game he bought, and we play a few rounds of chess as we whip out the deck of cards for blackjack, war, and go fish.

Each game is more fun that the last, and despite our competitiveness, we are both disasters by the end from laughing too much. The games were filled with fun and exhilaration. Of course, we did not play board games all night because we are both working adults, but that doesn't mean that it was any less playing board games until a reasonable hour! Saying it like that is so sad and not even all the games were board games, but that doesn't matter when Thomas and I had a great time.

Everything was good that night.