I woke with a start! I had been dreaming. At least that’s what I thought I had been doing. Or was I still in a deep sleep wondering through an unfamiliar place?
The room seemed to be spinning or was that my head swirling about. I could see my hand in front of me reaching for something; but I couldn’t quite grasp it.
When my shin hit the coffee table and the pain transmitted to my brain, I was definitely awakened from a trace-like state. The object I had been attempting to reach was my walker.
The pain in my leg paled in comparison to the diabolical throbbing in the back of my head. It felt like someone was squeezing my skull in a woodworker’s vice.
My surroundings were foreign to me. I appeared to be standing in the middle of a living room — in my boxers? Who stole my clothes? Then it all came back to me as the constant thumping pierced my brain.
Oh yeah, I was spending the night at my buddy Adam Sutphin’s house in Angier after another one of our epic adventures out on the town. The sofa was my makeshift bed. I could hear my good friend soundly snoring in his upstairs bedroom.
I arrived at his 1 1/2-story apartment earlier that afternoon following my morning weight training routine at Workout Anytime of Clinton. I was there to help him on another component to his 4-week fitness challenge — the recipe guide.
Adam didn’t have to ask me twice if I wanted to come and spend the day with him reformatting all the healthy dishes into a new program that would have everything accessible from the same app.
I didn’t actually mind the work either — copying, pasting, editing, organizing — it was the stuff I was born to do. And when my bestie brought me a comfy chair to replace the wooden one I’d been sitting on at the dining table, I felt like I was being pampered. He even brought me a cup of iced coffee. How’s that for service with a smile?
But after he performed his duties like a good host, he went back to his computer desk in the corner of the open dining/kitchen area and told Alexa to play some Avicii. The next thing I knew, my buddy was gyrating to the music and doing tricep push-ups on his leather desk chair.
“I bet you can’t do this with your chair,” Adam remarked. I guess not since my chair didn’t have any arms. Besides, I already worked out that morning unlike someone else I knew, not mentioning any names.
At any rate, my buddy couldn’t keep up with how fast I was doing my work. He finally said he didn’t have anything else to give me. “It’s about time,” I commented. “I’m starving.”
In a matter of minutes, we were on our way to Garner. Adam drove this time. He’s as crazy as I am behind the wheel. It’s uncanny how much we’re alike — two peas in a pod. We simultaneously started with our best car dancing moves when Calvin Harris blared from the car stereo speakers.
T.G.I. Friday’s was the place to be Saturday night. Unlike our last excursion to Longhorn where we had over an hour wait and ended up sitting at the bar, we were shown directly to our table upon entering the eatery.
Adam eyeballed the quesadillas on the menu, but I desired loaded potato skins for our appetizer. But when the waitress came, I caved and stated, “Bring my boy whatever he wants.”
I never had quesadillas before — another first. When I added the guacamole, which I never had until that very moment, I was in seventh heaven. “Where you been all my life?”
When we arrived at White Oak Theatre, the line was a mile long with only one window open. I was freaking out because our movie – “Ready, Player One” – started five minutes earlier. Luckily there were a lot of previews because we had time to snatch popcorn and drinks before hopping into our seats.
I don’t know if someone slipped me a sleeping pill or what, but I suddenly became extremely tired and those movable arm rests were in my road. Hopefully Adam didn’t mind because I threw the one between us upright and got comfortable.
Throwing my legs up on the seat in front of me, I slid halfway down in mine. It was fortunate no one was sitting there. Then my head sort of tilted toward my buddy. I don’t know if I woke myself with a start or he smacked me up side the head for leaning against him. Whatever the case, I remained wide awake for the remainder of the movie.
All in all, it was a gnarly flick with a bunch of tie ins from other films all rolled together. The Shining sequence was a scream. And I loved the Terminator 2 reference when the giant robot put his thumb up before being incinerated in the fiery flames.
A classic Hall and Oates tune — You Make My Dreams Come True — played as we all filed out of the theater. Someone was dancing. I’m not saying who in case it was me. We listened to the 1980s duo on the way back to Adam’s place.
It was after 1 a.m. when we arrived at his doorstep. My bestie offered to put me up for the night. He knew how tired I was and didn’t want me to wrap my car around a tree. He is such a good friend – always has my best interest in mind. I never had a son of my own, but if I did, I’d hope he’d be like Adam.