But I feel better now.
Also, it tends to happen just after printing out a "season", too. I don't know why, but it happens.
*****
I had a near encounter with Jen on Friday night. As I mentioned, I've spotted her in the area several times recently, so I've kept an eye out for her car so as to ascertain any clues to her possible whereabouts. Seeing as she was supposed to vanish into the wild blue yonder four months ago (it seems like longer), I'm curious to see where she landed somewhere nearby. And she is around. I'm sure of it.
Friday night was some crappy weather, so I decided not to go very far. I figured I'd pick up a chocolate milk for the morning, so I didn't have to stop on my way to work, and the place I go is only about a mile away. But they didn't have any. So I was headed back home and suddenly I was overcome with the urge to stop at the Shell convenience store, a store I've *never* stopped at before. But I was compelled to stop there.
And there she was. If I'd driven by I'd never have seen her, or if I'd been a minute later or a minute earlier, too. As it was, I just barely caught a glimpse. But it was definitely her. It was her and it was her car, and she was with someone. It was an older guy. I don't mean older like me, I mean older older. Like grandfather older. They got in her car and they took off, and he was driving. I didn't quite catch which way they headed, but I think it was the same way I saw her turn the last time: towards Keene.
Now, it's possible this old guy is who she's shacked up with, but I doubt it. I know she likes older guys, but this is a bit of a stretch. I wouldn't rule it out, because it is Jennifer, but I think it's a longshot. I think it's a co-worker. She likes second shift, and it's very possible she was on her lunch break. And, I think he was driving because she doesn't like driving in shitty weather, and it was pretty shitty out that night. So, I think she's working somewhere close by -- close enough so that this gas station is within reach of a lunch break. And it stands to reason she's living nearby somewhere, too. I have no idea where.
But now I have an idea where to look for her: that gas station, somewhere around 7:00 PM.
She might not want to talk to me now, thinking I've blown her off all this time (which is only half true), and she might tell me to go to hell.
But at least I'll know one way or the other.
*****
Meanwhile, I get the feeling that I'm starting to fall off of Amy's radar. I don't have a lot of tangible evidence to go by here, but sometimes I get a certain Spider-sense about it. We can call it virgo intuition, if you want. But I think I've fallen out of favor somewhat.
She's been very quiet. I used to get messages up the ass from her via Myspace, but I haven't heard a peep in about a week. That's the only real evidence; everything else is circumstantial and suspect. But I think being rebuffed has put her off a bit.
Saturday night was her birthday, and I'd given her a rain check she can cash in anytime to do pretty much anything (she can still cash it in if she wants), but I didn't hear a thing from either of them all day. Yesterday they each tried to call me to see if I'd go over and run Allison back up the mountain for them, but I made myself unavailable. Sometimes when people only call me when they want something, I can get in a bit of a snit about it, and I wasn't in the best of moods yesterday anyway. So I ducked those calls.
Turns out Cooter didn't do anything for her birthday. Not a thing. And he seemed irritated that she was irritated by that. When he told me that I was a little irritated on her behalf. Come on. That's your JOB. You're the boyfriend, after all. Doing something for your girlfriend's birthday is just a job requisite. There was a little while this morning where I questioned some of the decisions I've made recently, too. Why am I still alone when knuckleheads like Cooter get to hang around with a cool girl like Amy? I don't know.
Now, if I have fallen out of favor, I can live with that. I did make the decision that led here, and I know it. It's kind of a bummer, but I can deal. I'm tough.
If this is the sum total of Amy's influence within the Wheel of Destiny, she's left with with two things:
1) The epiphany that led me to sussing out the rest of the book.
2) Proof that interesting, attractive girls can still be interested in me.
And that's not bad.
*****
If I were somehow able to tap into Warren Meers's Buffybot technology and build myself a lifelike, robotic girlfriend, I'd probably create Emily:
No, I don't know who she really is either.
Emily was created to be the perfect girl, plain and simple. She was designed to be the perfect best friend for Jillian, and then the perfect girlfriend for Libby. And she was a success on both counts. Of course, when she was designed as 50% Erin and 50% Samantha there's almost no way that could fail. Those are, after all, the #1 and #2 most well-regarded girlfriends on my resume (for reference, Jen is like #6), even though Em took on dimensions all her own over the years. That'll happen. Some characters end up writing themselves.
She came from a troubled past, but overcame it, and in the end was probably the strongest of the entire six girl NHG (New Hampshire Girl) collective. She has inner strength you wouldn't believe. Libby might be the toughest, but Emily is the strongest. She has endless patience, even with people on the internet that Libby was *pissed* at. Emily still tried to hear them out and understand their side of the story. And when you stop and think that I was performing both characters, that's kind of amazing. I was just trying to be true to the character as I saw her.
Emily was always tolerant of all of Libby's vices and foibles, but was the one person who would take absolutely no shit from Lib, and was the one person who could tell Lib she was being a jerk and get away with it. That's kind of the thing I need myself, which is probably why Emily developed along these lines.
I could certainly do worse.
*****
And to wrap up, for the first time since the summer of 2002, the mighty Erica Campbell, often referrred to in the Joyride as "God's perfect creation", has fallen from the #1 spot on my list of hot internet girls
to be supplanted by Miss Emily Addison.
All hail Emily Addison.
*****
I know, that was gratuitous.
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