Happily AU After

So I'm about to go clean my apartment and myself so as to be presentable for people tonight, but I have something to say that can't wait -

Maeve is the greatest. The. Greatest.

The greatest what, you ask? There are so many answers to that question. The best hostess. The best interior decorator. The best at performing well in academia and corporate America. (Honorable mention for EV here.) The best shopping buddy. And the best friend I've got within 1200 miles.

Now, Maeve is always all these things. But I appreciate them extra right now because I just got home from a 2-night trip to visit her in Chicago. And what a trip it was. Despite making the plans with me at the very last second, Maeve arranged to "work from home" Friday and spent the day shopping and gossiping with me, as well as staying up late Thursday to fill me up with delicious food and her brother's wine. And...the whole visit was just so, so much fun. Maeve and I don't visit nearly enough considering how close we live, and every time I see her I think how much we need to get together more. I'm hoping this will be the trip that finally gets that all the way into my thick head, and I think it will be - I'm already planning a follow-up to this visit (possibly with a friend or two in tow? stay tuned...)

However, the #1 reason Maeve wins the Friend of the Month (possibly Season or even Year, depending on how her carpet and sheets recover) is because of how incredibly solicitous, gracious and chill she was when I woke her from a sound sleep by scratching timidly at her door at 1am last night, then whispering "Maeve? I'm SO sorry...but I kind of threw up ALL OVER your apartment."

Of course, I don't remember her being any of those things at the time. But she was still all those things - even making gentle and well-deserved jokes at my expense! - this morning when I woke up on her couch. I actually laid there for 30 minutes or so debating whether or not I could get away with leaving a note and  some money for a carpet shampooer and sneaking out to avoid the inevitable mortification. But then she and Pete woke up, Pete went out for liquids and McDonald's, and the choice was made for me. Like I said, she seemed genuinely willing to laugh about it, and in retrospect it is pretty hilarious now that the cleaning part is (mostly) over.

I'm going to place 30% of the blame on Pete though - mostly because I can, and because I love quantifying things like blame. We'd all been drinking together on the back deck and I was fine then - Maeve actually was the one who faded first, heading to bed. But I really wanted to go for a walk, and so Pete went out with me. And took me to a bar.

I can sympathize with being destination-oriented; I used to be that way myself. And Pete doesn't know me that well, and couldn't have known I would insist on us doing a shot after our drink. However...the last thing I needed was what one typically finds in a bar. And it's after that ill-advised Kamikaze that things get reaaaaaaally hazy, nauseous and ultimately tragic. I mean, dude. I've thrown up before - I'm a 26-year-old ex-frat groupie. But not since college (or possibly once or twice early MA year when we were all acting like we were in college). And never, ever in a room whose floor is covered in anything but linoleum tile. For realz. And I've never needed someone to clean up after me. Ever.

But if the milestone had to be crossed, I'm glad it was with her. Because if that story's going to be told, at least it's by someone whose version makes me sound like a cute and forlorn 6-year-old, not the aging boozehound I'd inevitably be if the story was being told by, say...Justin.

Oh God I'm glad it wasn't Justin. He makes my momentary drift onto the shoulder of 95 into a brush with almost certain death at the hands of a mortally incompetent female driver, so God knows what would have happened here. Plus he'd have had no idea how to clean the carpet.

So yes. I had a wonderful, mature, heart-warming escape from Madison with Maeve this weekend that concluded by chowing down on double cheeseburgers and fries with my hungover best friend in the Midwest and her even more hungover boyfriend. Epic.

And PS - want to meet this wizard of awesome? Pick a weekend, baby. Because she's planning a huge party at the end of the summer and has extended an open invitation to all my Madison buddies. Because she's the coolest ever. BECCA AND MAEVE 4 LIFE!!!!11