1863 Oops

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Man's replacement laptop arrived today, so I ran it down to his office in NJ, so if there's any problem with it, we find out ASAP. Which led to an interesting afternoon. The following is an edited version of the note sent to The Man after my return home. I'm just too zonked to rewrite.

I made it to [the village, home] in good time, but things went west from there.

When I was getting gas at the station across the street and down from [Piper]'s office this afternoon (12:50 pm, on the way to meet you), I saw some guy and [Piper] in heated discussion outside [Piper]'s office. They were shouting, I could distinctly hear [Piper]'s voice, and it turned into a shoving match. It looked pretty bad, and ended only when [Piper] opened his office door, pushed the other guy away when he attempted to enter, went in and closed and presumably locked the door.

I called [Piper] a few times before I met with you, but got the machine on both the office phone and his cell. So, of course, I stopped in on my way home.

The battle was with [The Angel], his partner and our CPA, and it was about the mess (my words, not Piper's) [The Angel] has made of [Piper]'s 2007 taxes. [Piper] denies it, but I suspect it also involved my taxes, which [The Angel] messed up even worse. I didn't recognize [The Angel] at that distance. [Piper] says they've already made up, but when I arrived at [Piper]'s office, the door was still locked, which it never is, even sometimes when [Piper] isn't there, so I don't really believe him on either count.

[Piper] invited me out for a drink. His (pay attention here) daughter's fiance's father's brother had married a internet-order Philippino bride in a civil ceremony that afternoon, and the immediate family was having a celebratory dinner in a restaurant just down the street, and [Piper] wanted to drop in and deliver a gift, so we did. When offered a drink, I said "I'll have what the bride's having", which no one could identify as other than a Peach Something-or-other. Then [Piper] began to feel uncomfortable, so he said "Drink up and let's go", so I did, and that was a mistake.

I am right now tipsier than I have been in decades. I've done shots with the guys in the tavern of an afternoon. I've chugged the Grande Marnier when you and I have been in a hurry. But nothing has hit me like this Peach Something-or-other. I wonder what's in it.

[Piper] says he and [his lady] are finally absolutely really separating, and so he has invited me as his date to his daughter's wedding. I pointed out that he really should sit with his ex-wife - she won't be with anyone - but he says no way. I've met his daughters and enjoy them, they like me, but I'd be uncomfortable as the "date" of the father of the bride, so I don't know. (It's not really a date - a kiss on the cheek is as far as it goes, as far as it will ever go, but part of the problem is that others do think there's more going on, and his daughters wish there was more.)

Anyway, I'm home in one piece, unless I'm too blotto to notice what pieces are missing.