The Exciting Conclusion to Last Week's "Four for Four"

Our last adventure left us dangling on the edge to see what surprise our protagonist had plotted...

June 2013
It had been too long since the warmth of the California summer sun had touched our protagonist, i.e. me, so I was itching with homesickness. As luck and fate would have it, my position at work has a "down" season during summer (still equally busy, but no events on campus), so I grabbed the bullet and bought my ticket for home. Almost as soon as I clicked the button "confirm purchase" for my e-reservation, the desire to do it rose up one more time. With that familiar feeling of sneakiness and giddiness, I reached out to Deana, my best friend Victoria's little sister on Facebook:

Me- Are ye ready for an adventure, laddie? I'll be coming home soon and I need a co-conspirator to help me surprise Victoria - she doesn't know when I'm coming back. Are you up for the challenge?

May 17th, 4:31pm

Deana - yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me - Excellent. I'll be flying in on the 4th of June and my plan is as follows: if she is working that day, you offer to pick her up from work and I go with you. Or, if she is free that day, you two go out on an outing (even if it's just to the Jack in the Box) and I'm just conveniently there.

Deana- if we were at jack in the box you could bump into her and say excuse me

Me - lol, ask her for ketchup

Deana - perfect!!! june fourth is a tuesday. she probably wont be working so lets do jack in the box. or brainstorm over the next few weeks... so she has no idea?? how long are you staying?? YAAAAAYAYA

Me - She knows that I'm considering coming home, but my tickets are already bought.

I'm moving out of my apartment and everything. I'll be there for a number of months

I have to run away from the office now (it's friday!) I'll talk to you soon!!!!

Deana - ok farewell snarah!!!! more to come!!

May 22nd, 11:19pm

Deana - We should do our meeting shenanigans at a boba place.. do you like boba?! or the Crow! I feel like that'd be beyond perfect. I am getting so excited! Funniest thing.. Victoria is sitting right across from me!

May 23rd, 6:22am

Me - Lol, the crow might be great. I do like boba. It's empowering, no? Just 1 more full week!!!!

May 30th, 12:50pm

Me - I'm getting sooooooooo excited!!!! I can't wait to come home!!!

May 30th, 2:21pm

Deana - me too!!! i cant wait to see vics face

June 3rd, 4:02pm

Me - Mmmmm-k, here are the details for tomorrow. I'm landing at 11:45 am. My mom is going to pick up the cat & me. We're going to go home and settle the cat - likely to have lunch w/ the madre. I'll stay at my place for a little while, then we're likely to go out to dinner tomorrow night. SOOO, like 4ish, do you want to meet at the crow and then the two of you accompany my family and me to dinner?

June 3rd, 7:55pm

Deana - ok!! hmmm ill ask victoria tonight if she wants to go to the crow tomorrow

June 4th, 1:02am

Deana - Alert alert vic works till 630 tomorrow!!

but she said she'd go to the crow after with me!!

June 4th, 7:55am

Me - Cool. Would you all be game to do dinner too?;

June 4th, 12:02pm

Deana - yes!

(Ugh, the stupid highlighting won't go away).

The plan was set. My family knew that I was coming home, but I swore them to secrecy along with my friends out east. No one was allowed to post on my facebook a "farewell" or a "welcome back" until my mission was seen through. These dastardly plots are not easy to see through. Even I almost blew this one while I was on the phone with Victoria. Numerous fun and unexpected things happened while I was moving out of my apartment and I couldn't share them with my best friend for the longest time, but then at last the morning of my trip came.

With the cat and my two pieces of small luggage, I entered my cab before the sun rose, JFK bound. It had not been my intention, but I ended up getting several hours of naps en route to San Diego. The week preceding my departure had been very stressful and very hot. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. The hour before my flight, while waiting to board, I took the cat child and put her carrier in a small, but warm nook where there were less people (our cab ride scared her something terrible - it scared me too). To help calm her, I laid down on the carpeted floor, stuck my hand in her carrier so that she could feel my heartbeat, I set my phone's alarm for forty minutes and then I crashed. It was a great short nap, but it would be the first of three for that morning. After settling on the plane and maybe a minute after takeoff, I was floating in my own set of clouds, deep asleep, with my face leaned against the window. I'm sure that my mouth was agape and the likelihood of me drooling on was pretty good, but it didn't bother me. I can sleep anywhere, which may not always be a good thing. I woke up to order my free cup of Dunkin on the plane, but only to fall right back asleep again as I waited for the coffee to kick in. Once it did, I picked up the current Dan Brown book that I was reading (endorsement alert!) as I am currently addicted to his stories about Robert Langdon...(maybe I'll do a book review for next week's entry). The flight flew by in a breeze - four hours and forty minutes. Because we were so early, we ended up being ferried around the runway for another twenty minutes, which was maddening. I was in San Diego, staring up at Banker's Hill and over at the old Point Loma Marine base, but I was stuck in the plane. 

Soon enough, we were released and I was reunited with my mom! On our way back to the house, we stopped at a Mexican fast food spot and I tasted an authentic, amazing, wonderful, spicy and cheap bean and cheese burrito. One word: heaven....I seem to be hungry all of a sudden.

My mom and I waited until my dad returned home from work then we hopped in the car and headed to Old Town where my best friend would be. We met Deana in the parking lot and thus engaged ourselves in stealth mode. My parents went on to find us a table at a restaurant while Deana and I implemented our plan. There was no real thought process behind our plot; I believe plans were discussed of obtaining a Delorean, a clock tour, and fliers that said, "Save the clock tower," but we did not have the time to print the fliers. 

As luck would have it one of Victoria's co-workers emerged from the shop to take out the trash. Deana acted fast and asked this young lady if she would be able and willing to help us surprise Victoria. She agreed and was very excited to be a part of our shenanigans. The co-worker reentered the shop and Deana and I took our positions. The back door of the shop in which Victoria works has a blind back door, so we could have been running a muck in the back and she wouldn't have seen us until she opened the door. So Deana and I made the best available decision; we took the two chairs that were on the back porch and put them directly at the bottom of the short stairs on the dirt path, directly in view sight. We positioned ourselves like proper English chaps and discussed how this would have been better if we had pocket watches and corn pipes, but we were working with what we had. As we sat there waiting, we discussed normal things, which would have seemed very odd to anyone walking by. But then the door clicked and Deana's and my conversation dropped dead.

We stared up at the door with pleasant smiles on our face as Victoria emerged. She stopped walking and stared at the pair of us for a long while, her expression staying blank. Then the best line came, which I'll never tire hearing from her (in context), "I hate you."

After the immediate shock passed, we all laughed and hugged and it was wonderful. Then we all went to dinner with my parents (more Mexican food - constant heaven) and had a marvelous time. So yes, I am reporting from America's Finest City and it is very good to be home.