Since August is now half over, it's time for me to get it in gear and let all my readers know about my experiences at the big CM summer spanking party. It was held at our usual hotel on July 25-27. There were a lot of people there, many I had never met before.
Because I had to work on Wednesday, it was a hectic day for me. I had to work until 5 o'clock so the plan was for my buddy, Sherri, to drive to Morton from Kansas City and then my top, Mike, would drive down from Chicago and pick us up. Then we were going to spend the night at his condo in the city. Sherri told me she would try to get to Morton between seven and eight o'clock and Mike had planned to get there between eight and nine. I had to walk home from work and was planning on stopping on the way home to get my nails done. The place I go to is fast and they do amazing work. But they're all Chinese and so I have a hard time understanding them. The man who usually does my nails is nice enough, but he doesn't talk much. He prefers to use hand gestures when he wants me to do something. This time, I opted for pink tips since it was a special occasion. While I was sitting with my hands under the drier, I heard "Hey, Cheryl!". I looked up and saw Sherri. How one earth did she find me? It turns out that, when we were coming back from Atlantic City, I had pointed to the building and told her that was where I got my nails done. I guess it dawned on me at that moment that the town I lived in really was small. When I was dry and I paid my bill, I asked Sherri how she wanted to fill up some time since she was early and she said she wanted to go get some food. All she'd had all day was "road food" and she really wanted a hot meal. There was a Monacle's pizza next door so we went in and got some pizza.
We discussed several issues we'd both been facing. She was fully aware of my problems at home and she asked me if anything had changed. It hadn't. In fact, my sister had told me a few days earlier that my brother-in-law (her husband) didn't want me going to Chicago. In fact, he pretty much didn't like it that I had a social life. He thinks I should just go to work and come home everyday like he does. Neither he or my sister has a friend outside of work. Their evening hours are spent working another job. Neither needs the money, they just don't give themselves permission to do anything fun. They both hate it that I get my nails done, wear jewelry and make up and like pretty clothes. I'm an unabashed "girly girl" and I love all the things that go along with being feminine-- perfume, shoes and nice clothes. Both of them have had dentures since they were in their 30's because they never bothered to take care of their teeth. My sister hates it that I pay attention to my health. I'm determined to keep my real teeth for the rest of my life. Anyway, my brother-in-law grew up a Jehova's Witness and even though he doesn't practice his religion anymore, he still believes that women should lead quiet and plain lives. I should mention that I pay a very generous rent to live in the spare room (surrounded by junk my sister refuses to throw away). I don't think that what I do is any of his business. I don't tell him how to spend his spare time. I was pretty sure when I came back from Chicago it was going to hit the fan.
When Sherri and I finished our pizza, we headed back to the house. I was a little bit worried because I knew my brother-in-law would be home and I didn't want there to be a scene. But when we got home, he was grilling something on his grill and didn't even acknowledge me when I walked right past him. Whatever. Sherri and I went to my room and she helped me get my packing finished. I was worried because it was getting close to time for Mike to get there. So I called him and learned he was just getting on the road. That meant it would be close to midnight before he would arrive. I love Mike to death, but he has never once picked me up at the time he tells me he will. So now, with another three hours to kill, Sherri and I joined my sister in watching the Cardinal game. She had come home from her evening job and the Cards were playing on the west coast so the start time was nine o'clock. Sometime during the game, they showed a commercial for Dairy Queen. The three of us looked at each other and the light bulbs went off. Off to Dairy Queen we went. The Cardinals had a handy lead by that time and so I was in good spirits, despite the delay in Mike arriving. By the time he did arrive, it was midnight and I had been up since six am. I was getting pretty tired. But he helped Sherri and I get our bags into this car. He didn't seem the worse for wear, considering all the driving he was going to have to do before this was all said and done. Now I should mention one more thing about Mike. He's never going to break any speed records. He does everything well, maybe not slowly, but he's definitely deliberate. Before we got on the interstate, he decided he needed gas, so we stopped at a local station. While his gas tank filled, he decided to clean the bugs off the windshield. Now, because I was tired and feeling giddy, I started to laugh at how he was cleaning the windshield. His response was typically toppy. He went to the back of the car and got a little hairbrush he had bought from my friend, MamaBlue, and brought it over to me. I was totally uncooperative because there were people around. He said "This car doesn't move until you turn over." Seeing that we weren't going to go anywhere until I did it, I turned over and allowed him to give me a series of smacks with the hairbrush. I hoped no one was around to see it. It was pretty late and the place was deserted. But the attendant inside could see outside. We drove off without anyone saying anything. We were already so late that I would have done anything to get us moving. Actually, we made pretty good time due to the lack of traffic and the fact that it was a Wednesday night and not a Friday. When we pulled up to the parking garage of Mike's condo, Sherri and I decided to only bring the things we would need for the night: pajamas, tooth brushes, etc. I decided to take a bath and get all shaved the next day. I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. In fact, when Mike took Sherri up to the observation deck, I fell asleep. We hit the sack pretty quickly as it had been a long day for each of us.
The next day, we discovered we'd slept late. It was almost eleven o'clock when we woke up. And we all got moving around a bit slowly. Mike wanted to take us out to eat and so we let him. He decided to take us to Le Grande Lux, a quite nice restaurant with a great view. It was a great place to people watch, if that's what you like to do. We got a pretty nice seat, despite the fact that it was the lunch rush. I had it narrowed down to two things when the perogies caught my eye. I ordered them because I hadn't had them in a long time. They were just about the best things I'd ever eaten. They braise them with short ribs and then top the whole thing with sour cream and green onions. It was heaven. I was excited about getting to the party because it had been nine months since the last one and there were people I hadn't seen since the last one.
Tomorrow, Day One of the party :)
