Nicholas showed up from work around 21:00 – the chef at his restaurant was really sick, and with only two people working, including Nicky, it’s impossible to run the place. So, Nicholas closed the shop early on New Year’s Eve, much to the chagrin of the owners, but there was no one else to come in and work.
When he arrived, I ordered Chinese food from Bamboo on Polk near Sacramento, and we had a huge pescetarian feast of walnut prawns, general’s “chicken,” bok choi and mushrooms, and crab rangoon (with real crab), all with brown rice. While we were waiting for the food to show up, I was texting with our buddy, Bruin, who was having dinner at some friends’ place. We three were to meet up later that night and ring in the new year. Bruin’s husband, Will, was working at the hotel, so we were sad that he wouldn’t be with us to celebrate.
But the dinner at Bruin’s was being cooked a course at a time so it seemed. We started to get the idea that Bruin was going to miss out on hanging with us, and he confirmed that a short time later. So, we got in the car and headed down to SOMA, found a parking space, and headed to Chaps for their celebration. Unfortunately, the crowd at Chaps was tired and tiresome, so after our one drink, we walked over to the Lone Star, where we found a jovial crowd much more to our liking.
This was Nicky’s first time in public collared, as well as wearing his tail, and he seemed a little subdued. He stayed very close to me all night, like a shy lil puppy, and I kept a protective arm around him much of the time. The tail created a deep awareness in him of his puppy nature, and he seemed happy and content.
Meanwhile, I was socializing with the bears and cubs, talking with friends old and new. Mark Katzenberger and Bob Thurman, as well as
But people started to move on toward their next destinations, and I wanted to get Nicky home, so I whipped out the 12-foot coil of rope I had in my pocket and bound his wrists behind his back on the patio of the Lone Star, which caused a minor stir, then led him out. I overheard Mark and Bob discussing sharing a taxi, so I offered them rides home. The four of us wandered back to the car, and after a minor rearrangement of the back seat, we drove off, first to the Castro to drop off Mark, then to the (outer) Castro to drop off Bob. Finally, I found us a good parking spot near home, and we headed upstairs.
Untying Nicky can be as much fun as tying him up!
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