The tangled web we weave

Background information:

• I took my car to the mechanic last week so he could look some more at the brake system. The car does brake, but not always as well as it should. We've had it in on several occasions and had different things replaced or adjusted, but none of them has fully solved the problem. When the mechanic brought the car back he had a list of work he wanted to do on it - it's running okay at the moment, but he explained that we're going to have to "invest a little in it" in order to keep it in (or return it to) good shape. The carburator, suspension, transmission and brake systems are all going to need work.
  
  
• Also on the car subject, I recently read this Defective Yeti blog entry.
  
  
• I'm reading a book of short stories by Maeve Binchy, an author I have always enjoyed. Her novels are generally about Irish families in small towns, and focus on relationships and family history. The stories, though, are all set in London and deal with a wide range of people in many different situations. I was surprised to find that the second one was about a couple in their 40s who were on their way to a wife-swapping party. The husband had found an ad about the party in a magazine and had contacted them. The wife had agreed because she thought it would help him not feel that they were getting stuck in a rut as they approached middle age, but she was having serious misgivings as the time approached. In the end they got almost to the party, talked about it, and agreed to leave.
  
  
• The neighbors building a house directly behind mine are a young couple who will be getting married in February. They have brought their families a number of times, both before and during the construction, to have cook outs or picnics at the site. The house is almost done, and they recently invited several couples over in the evening for the first time. The only windows of theirs that face our house are the French doors in the dining room, so when I looked out the window I could see the table and chairs set up and, later, the dinner party. This was the same evening I was reading the story mentioned above, by the way, and I'm pretty sure I had some dream about both situations that night, but I couldn't remember any details.
  
  
• The girls' school pageant was held in an events hall in San Rafael.
  
  
• I have been E-mailing back and forth with Lisa a little more often than sometimes, and spoke with Scott on the phone the other night when Alex was staying with them prior to his trip.
  
  
• Recently, I've been re-watching the Best of Friends DVDs I got on eBay. The first episode is the pilot, where Rachel comes in wearing a wedding gown, having just left her fiancé at the altar.

Additional background information for the casual visitor: Alex is my husband. Lisa is my sister. Scott is her husband.

And now, gentle readers, I bring you...

Last Night's Dream

Alex came to me and told me that he wanted to marry Lisa. I was surprised, but told him that if that was what they both wanted, that was what they should do. I wasn't going to gain anything by making everyone else miserable. (We apparently didn't have any children in this dream, by the way.)

Then, following the standard dream-logic, it was raised that Scott and I should also get married. I thought, well, it's not like my life has ever been predictable...what the hell, let's see where this takes it. I said yes.

The wedding was coming up soon, and was being held in the United States. Lisa and I were on the way there together when my car ran out of gas at a traffic light. We couldn't just leave it there and find alternate transportation because it was right at the light and would tie up traffic. We went into a nearby store to get help, explaining "we're sisters and we're on our way to our own double wedding..."

While we were waiting for help, Lisa and I talked about where each of the newly configured couples would live. For some reason, the United States was the obvious choice for Lisa and Alex...both employed there, perhaps? I was kind of figuring that Scott and I would live in Costa Rica - Scott could set up his landscaping business here - but Lisa informed me that Scott would never, ever move to Costa Rica to live. (I don't remember the reason, but there was one.) I thought, well, we could honeymoon there at least, and maybe it would grow on him. Or we could live in the United States. I knew Lisa would enjoy having us nearby again, although I thought someone should stay in Costa Rica so Alex's parents wouldn't be left all alone.

Eventually Alex came along and helped us out with the car. While that was happening, Scott (where'd he come from?) and I found ourselves alone together for a minute. We realized that, although we were about to get married, we had never even kissed. So we kissed. Umm. We tried again. We looked at each other and pretty much both said "what the hell were we thinking?" then headed over to the wedding to break the news to everybody.

The wedding was being held in a special events hall, and was about to get underway when we arrived. We talked to Lisa and Alex and they said they had made the same decision, so we all went up to the front of the room to tell the guests. Lisa said she would talk first, then me. There was also a silly wig and, I think, a piece of some costume involved, but that wasn't important.

Lisa had already come close to marrying and had called it off at the last minute, so her announcement was along the lines of "we're doing it again, sorry..." She had made the decision calmly, but actually calling off the wedding was upsetting for her.

When it was my turn, I just said "Scott and I have also come to our senses." I thanked everyone for coming and said we wanted to go ahead and have the party (reception) anyway, but by the time I had finished saying it everyone had cleared out and the only ones left were our parents. I was quite offended by this, actually.

Then the dream moved on to some restaurant that was so snooty that you couldn't walk through it to get to the dessert bar. You had to go out into the hall, up an elevator, through a couple of doors and down another elevator to where they had the buffet. But the desserts were good.

And that is the end. I'm going to have coffee now.