pink in the night ✓

04 | continuous function

jan 23 2010

When I was 16, Tanner and Jane started dating.

It was inevitably going to happen. Really, it was only a matter of time.

At his 15th birthday party, Tanner invited a bunch of his other friends (ones that I barely knew), which included her in the lineup. Somehow, between chugging solo cups full of fruit punch and games of darts, one of the attendees suggested everyone play spin the bottle. Of course, I didn't participate because I preferred to be on the sidelines than in the spotlight anyway. Naturally, the birthday boy went first, grinning ear to ear as he flicked the top of the bottle with incredible force, causing it to spiral round and round at an alarming speed. As it slowed down, it was obvious it was going to land on the girl in front of him, which just so happened to be her.

One kiss was all it took. From there on out, it snowballed.

Exactly a year later, and our friendship changed to accommodate his new girlfriend. Our duo gradually became a trio, and to be honest, I wasn't complaining. It wasn't like I had any other friends to hang out with.

It was Tanner's 16th birthday today, and instead of celebrating with dozens of other people like he planned the year before, he told Jane and I to meet him at the top of Mount Davidson so we could be alone.

One didn't have to know Tanner that well to know that Mount Davidson was his favorite place in San Francisco. Not only did he make special trips there every weekend despite living a half an hour bus ride away, he just generally doesn't shut up about it.

Truthfully, I see why he likes it there so much. Mount Davidson was one of those rare places in the city that, well, didn't feel like a city. Walking up the dusty Earthy pathway was like transporting to another dimension. The way the trees' branches twisted and hung resembled that of an enchanted forest. Vibrant sunset orange poppies were scattered around robust vegetation, little pops of color floating in a sea of dark green. A blanket of fog overlooking the attraction swallowed me whole, casting a suffocating filter over the faint silhouettes of leaves. And obviously, the real highlight of it all was the large cross statue that stood on the very peak, reminding the visitors of the rich history of the site and commemorating the lives loss during the Armenian genocide. Amidst the noise, chaos and disorder that the city provided, Mount Davidson offered a sliver of peace that was rare to come across. Needless to say, visiting was a nice change of pace.

Gift and food in hand, I continued to hike up the steep hill, stopping occasionally to make sure my boots weren't caked with mud. The soles were beyond saving at that point, but it's my fault for not picking out dirtier shoes. I was already late, so the two of them should've already been at the top somewhere.

As I approached the end of the trail, my knee started to hurt a lot more. Sucks to admit, but this is the most physical activity I've gotten for a while.

Panting heavily, I finally reached the top, relieved and tired all at once. As expected, Jane and Tanner we're already there, sitting on a plaid quilt on top of a patch of grass.

"Sorry, I'm late," I greeted, dusting my knees for any dirt that had blown onto it. Then, I took a seat. "Happy birthday, Tanner."

"It's fine, Charm," he said, smiling as I handed him the cloth bags. "Eggrolls?"

"Yep," I answered, grabbing a paper plate, "your favorite."

"Here," Jane placed a bag of Hot Cheetos on my plate, "Tanner told me to save it for you."

With a heavy heart, I thanked the birthday boy, and we proceeded to dig into the food that they brought. If there's one thing I knew about the Saelims, it's that they never play around when it comes to food. Tanner's mom makes the best Thai papaya salad, which isn't surprising because she swears that recipe was the result of generations and generations of tweaking to perfect it. One bite in, and an explosion of sweet and salty overtook my tastebuds--a strange combination on paper, yet somehow it works really well. Jane's Kuy Teav wasn't a joking matter, either. The broth of the noodle soup was jam packed with a light lemongrass flavor accompanied with a cilantro aftertaste.

I started to pick up some of our trash as we were starting to finish up, stuffing the debris into a paper bag that I used to make sure nothing spilled, and discarded everything in a trashcan nearby. Jane was chewing on her the remainder of her noodles when I got back.

"I got you a present," I informed him, handing him the other cloth bag which was standing idly behind our containers of tupperware.

Graciously, he accepted it, frowning as he inspected the contents. Carefully, he removed the stuffed animal from the blue tissue paper.

"A Charmander plushie," he said, chuckling, "did you make this yourself?"

"Yep," I told him, wincing as I remembered how tedious it was to stitch and change colors for every thread in his eye. "There's something else in there, too."

"A shiny Charmander card," he said, once he realized what it was, "wow, that probably wasn't cheap."

I shrugged. He assumed correctly. I had to scour the internet for a reliable retailer, and even then, shipping was...not cheap, to say the least.

"It was whatever," I replied, taking a moment to glance at our other companion, who hasn't really said anything since I got here. Between her brows was a small indentation. Honestly, no amount of calculation could ever help me figure out what was going on through her head.

"Charm, I love it. This is so thoughtful," he told me, pulling me in for a small hug, "thank you."

"I'm just glad you like it."

Continuing with the gift exchange, I sat back and watched as Jane gave him her present. She got him this stupid pair of Jordans he would not shut up about for the longest time. Obviously, he was quite pleased with it, and I was too. Now, I wouldn't have to listen to him talk about it constantly.

Finally, just as I thought we were about to bid our goodbyes, Tanner surprised me by bringing out a present of his own that was tucked away between a patch of grass. To my astonishment, he hands it to Jane.

"What's this?" she asked, playing with the tag attached to the ribbon.

"Anniversary present," he answered, "open it."

Doing what's told, she picked at the taped binding the cat printed wrapping paper together with her thumbnail. Uncovering the box inside, there, inside, a sky blue dress with gold trim.

"Tanner, you shouldn't have," she exclaimed, pressing a kiss on his cheek, "this is gorgeous."

The two of them collected their things, rolled up the blanket we were sitting on and patted me on the shoulder before they started back down the trail. Left to my own devices, I struggled onto my feet, and headed the other direction.

On my way home, I couldn't help but think that he should've gotten her a pink dress instead.