Five Years

Robin and I met eight years ago, in late 1999. I was living the "high" life, partying my ass off in a new environment free from my parent's regulations. Robin was dating someone else at the time. We met because I hung around his dorm, in which my friends also lived. We always met in passing, myself being in various states of consciousness. Our pleasant regards were quickly exchanged, as he was on the way to class and I was on the way to another bong hit. At the time, I was blithely unaware of how much this man would mean to me a few years down the road.

Though Robin cringes at the truth of how we re-met, we did so at Neighbors, the local gay bar (sadly, now closed). Each with different groups of friends, the chance meeting was both fortuitous and happy. We were excited to catch up on the past three years, so we exchanged numbers and said we should do lunch. The following week, we did.

Last night was a beautiful way to spend quality time an reminisce about the past five years. I made reservations at Red Agave, a local favorite, and when we arrived the place was practically deserted. They sat us in the corner, away from the other parties, and our server was wonderful. When we ordered a bottle of Argyle 2001 Brut, she asked what we were celebrating. When we answered, her face blushed with an earnest smile and she gave us a warm "congratulations". Our classes clinked in celebration as we perused the scrumptious offerings. Was it going to be the Sea Bass or the Lamb Chops? The Mesa crepes with Chevre or the Kobe Beef tamales? In the end, I ordered the Crusted Salmon with homemade Chorizo and Robin had the creamy chicken enchiladas, with homemade salsa verde and mole. Both dishes were phenomenal. Our conversation was delightful and joyous, wrapping us in a lovely blanket of togetherness.

As we were at Red Agave, and knowing we would be, I got it in my head that I needed a Richmond Gimlet. A Richmond Gimlet is Tanqueray No. 10 Gin, muddled mint, simple syrup and club soda. But you can forget all that and just remember that it tastes what unicorn tears must taste like. It originated at Red Agave, but the owners of RG also own El Vaquero, a short jaunt down 5th street. Before we left, we asked about the desserts. All sounded wonderful, but the chocolate torte with creme fraiche and mint sounded like the most bestest. As our server brought it out, she laid it on our table and said softly, "it's on the house". She received an amazing tip.

We only had one drink each at El Vaquero. I, of course, had the Richmond Gimlet. Robin had a Pico Sour, which was some insane drink with Angostura bitters lit on fire and foamed up. Quite tasty. The evening ended with us bundling up and watching a couple of X-Files episodes at home. I went to bed with a big smile.