true friends

Twenty-four hours ago, I was all set for a two-night trip to Malibu. My friend, Colleen, had buddy passes for Sugar and me and the plan was to fly to Long Beach, rent a car, and drive to Colleen's mother-in-law's home on the Pacific Coast highway in Malibu and finally put on that outstanding swimsuit I bought last summer and have not yet donned. Willie (the mother-in-law) lives on a cliff that has a pathway directly down to the beach. In Malibu. Cost: flight ($49), rental car ($7/day), other essentials (sunscreen, food, etc.)--and that was the entire cost of the trip.

Sugar and Colleen showed up last night and off we went to the airport. Where our vacation balloon was quickly burst when we learned that yes, Colleen and I were definitely on the plane, but Sugar was almost certainly not getting on that plane. We were 6 & 7 on the wait list and she was 45.

Through some odd quirk, that takes too long to explain, quite simply, that was the situation.

I have to admit that when Sugar said we should just go without her (pointing out that they had already been to Long Beach a couple of months ago for a couple of days when Colleen tried out to be in a commercial for the airline and had only one buddy pass for that trip) well, I have to admit that I was slightly okay with two of us boarding and the other trying to get onboard this morning. But there was really no guarantee that she'd get on that plane either.

The thing that was most amazing to me was that as soon as Colleen realized we couldn't all three go, she immediately--immediately!--said nope, if we don't all go, nobody goes. I'd probably have reached that conclusion as soon as I got on the plane without Sugar, and the fun of the trip would have been lessened, but Colleen didn't hesitate. All or none.

Malibu would have been fun, but I'm just glad I have friends like them. No doubt about it, they've got my back.