A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Part II

Okay, the bitch fest continues:

My mother didn’t want to take a cab and tried to book a sedan or limo only a few hours before the ceremony. However, there was a school dance and a convention (that brought in several thousand extra people) that prevented us from finding an available car, so they decided to just rent a van. Which ended up being for the best, but I’ll get into that later. She had the wedding at the fabulous Artisan Hotel. The interior is very eclectic. The lobby is full of leather chairs, a piano, a fountain, plants, large decorative vases, columns, etc. All randomly placed. There really was too much stuff crammed into the room, but it was surprisingly comfy and inviting. I’m actually planning to stay there the next time I visit, which, from what my sister told me, the guests are predominately gay. Back to the wedding…I’m getting off topic. I arranged the flowers and candles in the chapel, as that was the task my sister assigned me. I’m guessing because I’m gay, and straight people always seem to think that you have a flair for flower arrangements and interior decorating simply because you’re a fag. Why is that? Oh, right, stereotypes. I didn’t mind, though, as it wasn’t much work and she had already told me basically how she wanted it to look.

Now, my sister likes to drink. It seems that every time that I’m around her and her now husband (btw, they live in Baltimore, MD), they end up getting drunk. Do I think all they do is drink? No. I don’t believe they have a problem. It’s just that every time we get together, it seems to be for some kind of celebration. Anyway, to calm her nerves, she requested liquor…and lots of it. Now, she’s the type of person that makes people think she’s strong and, often, cold (i.e. – a bitch). However, the buzz helped show a different side of her. She arrived at the hotel in tears (of joy), which eventually evolved into sobbing. Even w/ the crying and stuff, she still made a beautiful bride.

(((I will add the pictures and video later – I have them, but it would take to long to upload them here and I’m exhausted)))

The drinking continued at the small reception immediately following the wedding. While they are having a formal reception in April (when they can afford it), they still wanted to have a little something (i.e. – cake, wine, etc.) at the actual event. As I said, the drinking continued. Everyone (except me and my mother) was drinking a lot. I had one glass of wine. My sister, well, I don’t know all that she had, but she was shit-faced. You could tell because you could hear her talking throughout the hotel. It was funny and nice to see a somewhat more relaxed Carrie. Although, she ended up drinking far too much and spilled her drink all over my $250 phone and my clothes (which I was wearing at the time, so it was all over me, as well).

Now, I’m only going to post this portion here because nobody in my family reads this…you all know what typically happens when you don’t eat and you drink lots and lots of alcohol! We had just made it to her hotel (which thankfully was off the strip and; therefore, not thousands of witnesses) and barely got the door open before it all came back up. There was vomit in the car, on the street and on her dress. Her (bio- and step-) parents helped her in to the room and took care of her. Yes, her husband was also pretty drunk and not too much help. I felt bad for my sister, but I wasn’t going to stick around for that. Besides, I was already feeling queasy again thanks to smelling the vomit. This, btw, was all I could smell the rest of the trip!

So, after seeing my dad, dealing w/ the racist cabbie, rushing around town, making sure everything was set up for the wedding and dealing w/ an upchucking bride, I was in need of an adult beverage. Several, in fact. This meant that I wanted some time away from the family, so I text messaged the amazing Chad Fox to see if he knew of any gay clubs or places where there were predominately gay people. I’m the only gay person in my family and have always felt too separate from everyone, so I really just wanted to be in a more comfortable environment. You know, one where I’m judged by my appearance and not for liking to suck dick. I also didn’t want to go alone, because I’m not the type of person that can go out and make friends wherever I go. I’m very quiet and reserved, and only slightly less so as I get comfortable around you. I also can come across as unapproachable. It’s all due to my social anxiety (which I’m overcoming slowly but surely). So, when Chad mentioned that he knew someone that was in Vegas, I begged him to ask the guy to hang out w/ me. I was desperate at this point. I was hoping I’d get a call before my parents went to dinner, but didn’t and ended up having to go w/ them. This turned out to be eventful, too. My mother likes to argue. If there’s nothing to argue about, she’ll find something. We were all having a talk in the room prior to leaving. We were chatting and laughing and having a good ol’ time. Then, out of nowhere, my mother just starts biting my step-father’s head off about some look that he allegedly gave her. We were just about to walk out the door anyway, but she stormed out, got on an elevator (not holding it for us) and, we assumed, was going to be waiting for us down at the elevators. Nope, she had wondered off into the casino. Now, it would have been one thing if she had wanted her own space, but she was throwing her usual tempter tantrum and was expecting us to track her down.

I did, and thankfully was alone when I did. I asked her what the hell she was doing (which is not like me, but at this point I was so sick and tired of listening to her bitch about stuff). She started whining about how my step-dad had made some look when she made a comment to him, but I cut her off. I told her that her behavior was unbecoming and inappropriate. She tried to say that we were all ganging up on her back in the room and that her husband was always saying things to her in an attempt to embarrass her in front of others. I reminded her that she does the same thing to him. She denied it, but I told her that she does it all of the time. She says really mean things and I know it hurts his feelings…because he’s told me. I told her that she needed to talk to her husband about it, and not to yell or anything. She needs to learn to have a calm discussion w/ someone rather than just instantly going off on them. She agreed to talk to him, but told me that she was insulted that he didn’t have the nerve to come to her. I reminded her that we were all looking for her, but that I was the one that found her, and I made her go to him. She didn’t talk the entire ride to the restaurant, but I caught them talking as we walked through the casino. She eventually got in a better mood. She just needed to be put in her place. It felt good standing up to my mother for a change. I’m going to do it more often now.

The guy never called, so I ended up having dinner w/ my mother, step-dad and aunt. It took them over an hour to decide on a restaurant, another hour to actually leave to drive there and another 45 just to get into the restaurant. At this point, my nerves were pretty much shot. They made me wait 30 minutes after the meal so they could gamble, even though they knew I was itching to get out on my own (had to go back to the hotel to change and stuff).

TO BE CONTINUED