Stood Up

In an earlier post, I mentioned a fellow Race Committee member I call Tim. He declined my suggestion of going to concerts or shows in Boston over the winter and spring, but he's been as friendly as ever this summer.

That last of the Thursday evening races was August 30. We both had Race Committee duty on September 8, and as he was getting ready to leave after a couple of post-race beers on the club porch, he mentioned that he had so enjoyed the get-togethers with committee and racers after the Thursday races that he had come to the club on the evening of the 6th. He had been a bit disappointed that none of the other regulars had been there. So as we were leaving, I told him that I'd be there on the 13th unless it slipped my mind.

So I showed up at the club about 6:15 and checked the bar and the porch to see if he was there. He wasn't, so I went into the room where the group would gather for dinner and took a seat at a table where I'd be visible from the bar when he arrived and where I'd be able to see him if I wasn't looking at my plate at that point. I had a nice dinner of onion soup, cioppino, and salad. I finished a few minutes before 8:00 and enjoyed the mild evening on the porch for a few minutes before I headed for home.

It was something of a disappointment that he didn't show up. But there hadn't been an actual commitment on either part, just my expectation. I mustn't even begin to entertain the thought that he would have been there if I hadn't told him I would — that he was avoiding me. Maybe he had to stay late at his work, or maybe any number of other possible things kept him from coming to the club.

I'm not sure if I should even mention it to him. At most, if I see him soon, I might say something like, "I took your suggestion of going to the club on a Thursday evening, and it was nice, although not the same as on racing evenings. But it was such a pleasant evening that I should have spent a while on the porch before I went in to dinner."