Fashionable lunch

Today the husband very nicely drove me out to Fashion Island. Not to shop, no funds for that but to have lunch with Beanie.

Beanie moved to Chester county, PA 3 years ago. Messy divorce proceedings finally drove her to move back home to her family. Prior to her move I hadn't seen her in about 4 years.


She and I became friends at my old work. When it was here in town. She started working in town (transferred from another county) and had no friends here. I asked if she wanted to have lunch with me one day. She accepted and while I thought she was weird during that lunch we did hit it off.

For 6 or 7 years we had lunch together every day. We walked to Starbucks together every day too. We had a number of fun adventures over the years. We both rose in the organization at about the same rate. She came to my house when we bought it, I went to her wedding, later saw her hours after her first baby was born. We're good friends.

She finally left the company after she met her boyfriend who was to become her husband. He was quite monied and she didn't have to work. She wanted to be a mom and stay home with the kids. That's exactly what she did. I missed her lots at work.

Eventually the marriage didn't work out (in a big way). I was sorry she felt she had to move out of CA but understood given the circumstances.

She has to return every other year to let the kids see their dad and she is in CA this week. So we drove out to see her.

She looks fabulous. I mean really, really good. Her kids are healthy, happy and even tho she prefers to be in CA her kids are thriving in PA without all the hubbub of a bad family situation here in CA.

We sat out on a little patio outside the Cheesecake Factory. A view of the ocean, the temps in the mid-70's, a perfect California winter day. We stepped right back into our friendship as if no time had passed. I am in awe of that kind of connection.

I miss you Beanie, I wish I could go back east and visit and see your new world. LOL, I could visit my SIL too. I'm gonna need that new job to materialize to afford that.

On another note: I got a voicemail from my sister who is in Laguna right now. Damnit, had I known I could have met her at Fashion Island too. My phone is sucking a big one right now so I never heard the phone ring.