Fathers Day ...

Jeff's Fathers' Day began with bacon and a gift Ali and I managed to acquire and smuggle out of the Biltmore during our Spring Break trip; turned next to a trip to the Talbott Street Art Fair where we almost bought a $1400 painting but instead shared an ice cream taco sundae; then traveled down to the Vic for a baseball game where I didn't get ice cream; and is ending with a gathering of his fellow beer nerds.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday if you're Jeff Reed. Or Ali and Cheryl Reed for that matter. We had made sure that our presence in Maine was felt even though we weren't there to help with chores. our portion was lunch, which included lobster rolls for Gary and his work crew of Jen, James and Peter. So I guess it's a good day just to be a Reed.

It was a great day. After sweating ourselves stinky, Ali and I are holed up in the house with air conditioning while the beer lovers are comparing this pilsner to that mead to a stout or a sour.

My first interaction with the early crew had me gagging on a beer they all loved (thus risking my welcome) and my last was after I'd made them let me take their picture.

As I returned inside with photos in hand, I heard the Captain say, "I like the nose on that one far better than the taste" as the others responded with either agreement or disagreement, I'm not sure.

I am sure that I'm more suited to what's inside the house and my only discussion of it will be: "Mmmm."

My champagne will be awesome, and it would have held up well to the ice cream sundae Jeff and Ali found while I waited in line for a gyro. Don't get me wrong, we spend much more time perusing the art. Ali and I fell in love with a red and black cape with vintage buttons and was soft like a lamb's ear.

I was just thinking that we should bring it home when its designer came by to tell us all about its uniqueness and explain the $440 price tag had a bit to do with it being cashmere.

It was nearly as beautiful as the bursts of color at a booth with the $1400 painting. Ali like a couple with one zero removed, but we moved on and didn't make it back. We were driving my car, which even with the top down wouldn't have accommodated the large piece, and we had baseball to get to, anyway.

 

It was a slightly breezy, sunny day. Perfect for baseball. Until the sun breaks through the sunblock and you have to flee to the shade. The Tribe won its first game of a double header forced by a rain-out yesterday.

We dropped Ali at a graduation party for one of her friends while Jeff secured the last items for his beer tasting and picked her up on our return. We're all aware that these are the last of our days as a pretty tight threesome.

Ali got a little weepy when she and Jeff were waiting for a monster movie to start. A trailer for a superhero movie came on and she thought "Hey, that'll be fun to see with Dad." Then she remembered that when it comes out, she'll be at Purdue. "The tears just fell," she said.

Jeff had already told me about this story (which had made me tear up) so I was prepared when she told me about it. I kept my cool and reminded her that we can always drive to Lafayette and catch a movie and dinner.

"I know," she said. "But ..."

Things are changing. We keep having the conversation of "We knew it was going to happen. We've raised her to be able to fly on her own." But it's hard. I told a friend the other day that I'm pathologically good at compartmentalizing, and I'm working pretty hard at keeping my weeping to a minimum.

Jeff learned last week that he's got a work trip coming up that can begin the very day after we drop her off at Purdue -- which is 58 days from now, btw. It's to Denver, and he thinks it would be a good idea if I tagged along.

We told Ali about it, and I told her that a friend of mine had suggested that I could drown or smoke my troubles away. She looked at Jeff and then she looked at me and frowned.

"If I come back after four years and you two are stoners, I'm going to be very disappointed."