Guilt Trip

So Steve and I are feeling a little guilty after this weekend. I'm pretty sure that if things keep going the way they have been, we'll have every wife and girlfriend in the tri-state area so pissed off at us, that we won't be able to show our faces in public. But let's back up a bit...

As I've mentioned here before, our girls, since the time they were infants, have slept over at my parents' house almost every single Saturday night for their entire lives. For years, Steve and I didn't really "do" anything those nights they were gone. We'd stay in, drink some beer, maybe watch a movie, sometimes watch 2 different shows on 2 different TVs in 2 different rooms, etc. But about 3 months ago, we decided enough was enough and decided to go out the nights we were kidless. It was the best decision we ever made. We now frequent two bars depending on our mood. Both are right down the street from our house (in opposite directions) and could honestly be within walking distance if we ever really NEEDED to walk home (although it would suck since we don't have public sidewalks in our neck of the woods), but we can drive home in about 2 minutes flat.

One bar is frequented by younger people. Every time we're there, about 6 random people I know from high school come in and we catch up. In fact, the manager there graduated with my brother. ALL of the waitresses, bartenders, etc. know us by first name and they have live entertainment every Saturday night.

The other bar has an older crowd on a Saturday night. And by older, I mean older. Like people with kids who are my age. But they rule. They're all guys (the regulars I mean), and I have a total blast with them every time we're there. And the bartender, Jen, kicks some serious ass. Best bartender EVER. We love her.

So anyway, word leaked out that Steve and I go out every Saturday night, and two weekends ago, a couple friend of ours (who aren't lucky enough to "get rid of" their kids every weekend) found a babysitter and wanted to go out too. Great. We invited a third couple too and went to the bar with the live entertainment. We had a blast. Shots all around... The band was awesome... But I have this BAD habit of being friendly and talking to everyone and anyone that walks through the door. I just start babbling like I've known them for years. Sometimes this is good, but sometimes, not so much.

That night, I made friends with the 3 guys in the band. The shots were pouring. The bass player and I did more shots than I can even recall. Then there was the drunk dude from Pittsburgh (the other side of the state from where we live).  He was soooo trashed and kept pulling me out onto the floor (and there IS no "dance floor" in this place) to dance. Being the idiot I am, I kept playing along. People were laughing... people were drinking... etc. The drunk dude was there with his wife and at some point, somehow, the guy bonded with Steve. He kept asking Steve if he's a beach bum and then, later in the evening, kept telling Steve he hoped to "score some blow." Now it's still unclear if the guy meant "blow" in the drug sense or the, ahem, other sense. He kept telling me how much he liked Steve, etc. So I dunno. I'm pretty sure that Steve and I could've become swingers that night if we had wanted to.

Anyway, the people we were actually there with had a total blast and were jealous that Steve and I get to do it every weekend.

Fast forward to this past weekend....

Steve and I head out, but to the bar with the older crowd instead. Great. As we're pulling out of our driveway, we call Steve's step-brother and invite him and his fiancee to meet us there if they want to. Now calling him a "step-brother" is weird because Steve's mom and step-dad just got married 4 or 5 years ago, so to all of a sudden call a 37-year-old guy your step-brother is weird, but anyway, I digress.

So we invite them to meet us there if they want to (no pressure) and head out. We get there, eat dinner, etc. and are surprised to see none of the other regulars there yet. Right after we finished eating dinner (right at the bar of course), Steve's step-brother walks in -- without his fiancee. Alrighty then. So we ask where she is and he says she's at home. Apparently, she didn't want to go to the bar we were going to and he said, "Too bad," and left. Now you have to understand that this is NOT this guy's personality at all. He totally tries to please everyone and I'm pretty sure the fiancee was shocked when he pulled out of the driveway without her. I, however, was laughing my ass off. I like her well enough, but I often question how much he really loves her and I have a feeling she's used to getting her own way. So now we have one guy with us and one pissed off fiancee back at home. LOL! (Sorry ladies, but I don't do well with those mind games. I don't do everything Steve wants to do, but I REFUSE to play those games where I "forbid" him to do something and then get pissed off if he grows a set and does it without me.)

Fast forward again about an hour later. By now, some of  the old guy regulars have shown up and I've hopped to the other end of the bar to hang with them while Steve stays at the other end with his step-brother. I hear the door open behind me and turn around to see who's walked in. Well, holy shit, it's the guy half of one of the couples we went out with the weekend before! I'm like, "Dude, what are YOU doing here? It's midnight already!" He says that his wife and the kids were all asleep and he decided to come find us since he knew we were in one of two bars. He goes on to say that he had so much fun the weekend before that he just wanted to come out and have a few beers. I ask if his wife knows he's there and he says no. I ask if he at least left a note, and he says, "No. I have my cell phone. She'll call if she wakes up and wonders where I am." ROFL! Awesome!

We closed the place down and all went our separate ways. What was TOTALLY awesome was that Steve's step-brother left a little while before us, and unbeknownst to us, he had our entire tab put on his bill and he paid it. All $85 of it (we had dinner too, don't forget). How awesome is that? We need to invite him out more often! Damn!

But now Steve and I feel a little bit guilty. Although we're flattered that people want to hang out with us, and that they're envious of our relationship and weekly date (they told us that... I wouldn't just say something like that), we also feel bad that we're enticing all of the guys out while the chicks stay at home, either pissed off or oblivious because they're sleeping. LOL! So here's my public apology to women everywhere. I swear that if your boyfriend/fiance/husband ever ditches you to go out with Steve and I, it wasn't because we told them to do it without you. And rest assured, we'll try our damndest not to get them in trouble, but we can't make any promises. Because you know... every once in awhile, some band member may buy us all shots (ALL NIGHT LONG) or some drunk guy "looking to score some blow" may show up and blow it all to hell. ;)

Oh, and let's not forget the old lady that hit on Steve a few weeks ago. She was ALL over him and if your boyfriend/fiance/husband happens to go out with us and she's there too and hits on them too, it's not OUR fault. We didn't like her much either. LOL!

Quote of the Day:
Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.
--Wilson Mizner