journaling, or, sometimes people go but then sometimes they come back

11/26/00
I dragged C to the Jefferson Valley Mall, it was sort of scary to be there after all these years. I got sparkly gloves and a 2001 day planner and 4 lighters at the dollar store. We went back to C's and called E and the three of us met up at the Olympic Diner for dinner. It was really good to see E again after all this time. This sounds sort of silly, but he still gives those same real hugs that I always loved so much about him. He looks pretty much the same, maybe a little bit heavier, a little more clean-cut, a little less edgy somehow, but still good. Dinner was kind of awkward but also kind of funny and entertaining. Afterwards he drove me into Peekskill to the train station but the next train wasn't for an hour. He waited there with me for most of the time. We got out of the car to smoke a cigarette and I was getting sort of hyper and jumping around (to combat the cold, of course). We walked down to the river and back and he said, "You know, I thought you were gone forever." He said he feels too young to have a job like his, that he should be washing dishes or something. He said he wants to get the hell out of Detroit, back to the east coast, maybe NY. He kept looking at me funny, staring, and I might have been reading it wrong, but I think he was happy to see me. He asked for my phone number and email before he left -- I hope I hear from him some time.