The Wedding - Day 3 - Aftermath

8/3/15, “Aftermath”

Hood River, Oregon

“My whole life growing up,” I started, holding my sister’s hands and looking up at her, the same way I looked up at my brother growing up.  “More than anything, I wanted a big sister,” I continued, the tears welling up, “and, now, here you are.”  I had just delivered the keynote speech of the wedding, a carefully crafted masterpiece, a loving tribute to my new sister.  At some point growing up, I realized it was impossible for my parents to give birth to an older child, that my wish would never come true.

I was wrong.  It came true, just not in the way I had expected.  She replied that, being the youngest child, she always wondered what it would be like to have a younger sibling.  It was one of the happiest moments of my life.  Growing up, my brother's friends never teased me, he never would have stood for that.  They considered me their little brother.  It is only fitting that his wife now considers me to be her little brother, too.

My new BFF

How did we get to this point?  Well, I closed before I left for the venue, so I should pick up with that.  Wow, it is just so raw.  Okay, I headed down to meet up with the groomsmen and my new friend, with whom I have developed a special bond, much to my mother’s chagrin.  She is Adam’s best friend’s wife, and she blames Adam for ruining her wedding.  My mom was convinced she wanted her revenge.  If Adam considers their child to be his nephew, wouldn’t that make Tina a cousin of some sort to me or something?

The Belle of the Ball

Adam was late, but we were soon on the road, drinking in the taxi and sharing some final stories and using this last chance to tease him.  I put my computer bag in the back, with my speech, my water bottle, my laptop, and smoking products.  We kept drinking and talking until we got to the venue, discussing, too, when we would have our cigars.  We got to the venue, and we all started walking to the “Groom’s Quarters.”  I thought about my cigar.  Wait, my cigars!  Where were they?  Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They were in the computer bag.  The computer was in the taxi!  The taxi was gone.  Wait, no.  It was driving away.  I ran after it.  It was not stopping.  In my uncomfortable shoes and full wedding attire, I run down that gravel road at full speed, waving and yelling.  He did not stop.  I kept running and waving and yelling.  Finally, he stopped.  I got my bag.

My whole life was in that bag.  It would have been a disastrous way to start the wedding.  I made it back, and they all knew why I had left.  “Did you get your bag back?”  Yep.  I did.  We enjoyed our last moments together, continuing the stories and the teasing.  The father of the bride soon brought us some snacks, which were much appreciated.  I was still catching my breath.  We took lots of photos and had a great time.  We then went to sign the ketubbah, and I was handed the rings.  I was the ringbearer, which meant I made lots of Lord of the Rings jokes.  “When do I throw the ring into Mount Doom?”  That kind of stuff.  Then it was time for the ceremony.

Everything was set up so beautifully, and, as I saw my sister walking down the aisle, I thought about how much I had always wanted a sister and how happy I was to call her my sister, and I started crying, and she saw that, so she started crying, too.  My uncle did an amazing job officiating, and they were soon Officially wed.  We had cocktail hour, which was where we took the Facebook type photos, and everyone hung out.  We would have had time for the cigar then, but the schedule was all off, so we weren’t sure.  After we took all the photos, the reception began, and I enjoyed sitting with my cousins for the last time.

Then it was time for my speech, and the speech was perfect.  It said everything I wanted it to say, and it got the reaction I wanted.  Then, for the first time in, I don’t know, at least fifteen years, I said three words I have never said to someone I wasn’t dating or interested in dating.  “I love you, sis.”  It felt fitting that it would be my sister I said those three words to.  My dad’s speech was even more moving, and I still choke up thinking about it.  He talked about how they thought their life was over when Adam’s mother died, how miraculous it was that my mother came along and brightened their lives, that she made them a family again, and talked about how good of a big brother he always was.  It was so moving.

We finished the reception, and then the guys went out for cigars.  I opted for an H. Upmann, and I lost my shoes.  Tina later came buy with half a piece of pie and asked if anyone wanted it.  I grabbed it before Matt even had a chance to say he didn’t want it.  After I finished, I asked another of Adam’s friends, “Did I just use Tina’s fork?”  We all started cracking up.  It’s okay.  I really do love her.  She’s like a favorite cousin to me, more than my real cousins who were not in attendance tonight.

Go hard or go home.  We're going home...

I soon learned that Adam was well into his cups, and I would up literally having to carry him onto the bus once the party ended.  Other than the 88 cigar I smoked, everything that happened after that point is outside the scope of this Travelogue.  I woke up early and headed down to breakfast with Sokol.  I got the salmon bagel and bacon, which was delicious.  I then came back upstairs and went to the balcony, where I finished the cigar and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that we can head to Crater Lake NP.

Portland International Airport, Oregon (PDX)

Well, here we are, at the end of our trip, while my brother and sister have begun their new lives together.  Yes, I know it sounds awkward to phrase it like that (“my brother and sister”), but there is no other word to describe her.  It is only “Deborah” or “my sister.”  I could not ask for a more loving sister.  After I closed this morning, we made a few last minute goodbyes, to Adam’s godparents, to Tina and the last of his friends who are still there.  Tina loved the picture I posted of her, her husband, me, and Adam, as we left the venue and headed back to the hotel on the bus.  We got on the road and made our way to Crater Lake.

No, something was off.  I felt something I had never felt before.  I think the best word to describe it is “raw.”  I felt emotionally raw.  Not depressed, not happy, not mournful, just emotionally raw.  Add to that my hangover, my tiredness, and my stress about making the flight, it was a perfect storm.  I couldn’t take it anymore, and I had no desire to smoke.  I just wanted to escape, to find the balm that would protect the scab of these raw emotions.  It wasn’t a negative feeling, not at all, just intense.

I was able to point to three things.  First and foremost was how much I love my new sister, how happy I am for her to be part of our lives.  Second was a bit of envy, that he was now happily married to someone he met when he was almost exactly my age, while I am no closer to getting married than I am to going to Mars.  Third was just the general whirlwind of feelings and knowing that I’d be back at my desk in less than 24 hours.  It was too much to handle, and I couldn’t focus on my driving anymore.  I pulled over to take an Official U and gave control of the wheel to Sokol.  I slept a bit, and we were nearing the park, making good time so we stopped at a café for lunch.  Service was atrociously slow.  I had allowed an hour of Dutch Time for the day, and this used 45 minutes of it.  It would really impact our time at the park and cause us to risk missing dinner.

Once we got to the park, my heart just wasn’t in it.  It was a nice view of the eponymous Crater Lake, but that’s all there was to see.  Like the Grand Canyon, there is only so much time you can spend staring at the hole in the ground.  We went to the first viewpoint, and I lit up a Churchill.  We then went on our ceremonial hike.  After the hike, we headed to the first VC, stopping at a few viewpoints along the way.  I got my stamp and pin at the VC, and we then headed to the next VC, where I got my next stamp and a keychain and t-shirt.  It started to pour, which just killed whatever enthusiasm we had left, and I finished my cigar at the next viewpoint.  We called it quits at that point and headed straight to the restaurant.  Once we left the park, my tiredness/rawness returned, and I soon had to give Sokol back the wheel.  We stopped for gas and made it to the restaurant right on schedule.

We ate at Huber’s Café, Oregon’s “most iconic” restaurant, and the oldest in Portland.  I got the traditional turkey dinner, along with a glass of Oregon red, followed by a flaming Spanish coffee for dessert.  The meal was the delicious, and the production value of the coffee first rate.  I have really enjoyed eating at these “most iconic” restaurants, each of which has its own flavor and feel.  Needless to say, I was way too toasted to drive to the airport, so Sokol did the honors.  We were soon at the airport and through security.  We then went to the gate, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, along with closing this amazing this trip.  It was such an amazing time, and have I mentioned how much I love my new sister?  Only a dozen times?  Oh, okay.  Next stop: possible weekend trip to Delaware, otherwise Cuba.