Tourist Hotspots Proven To Be More Enjoyable When Not Shared With Newly-Single Emotional Wrecks

My boyfriend and I recently visited two different friends in the same city, both more his friends than mine. The two friends used to be engaged to each other, actually, but when they moved west a few years ago, they split and moved on with other people. While staying with [Friend #1], we make plans to visit [Friend #2]. This second friend holds a very serious, taxing job, working with law enforcement, and has been in a steady relationship for a while now, so while she’s known to be rather over-emotional at times, I assume she’s still a responsible adult and is doing well at the moment. We arrange to spend a day out with her.

Little did we know, [Friend #2] and her girlfriend has just recently broken up before our visit, due to her girlfriend cheating on her. When the day comes to hang out with [Friend #2], she is still an emotional wreck. And the fallout of this starts with her “forgetting” her car at work, meaning that it’s now [Friend #1], our host, who has to drive my boyfriend and me forty minutes across town to — let’s remember — her ex-girlfriend’s place, and drop us off. [Friend #2] then calls a Lyft for us back into town, where we wander a bit and find food.

The lighthearted romp we were expecting, catching up with a friend while on vacation and seeing an unfamiliar city, becomes instead hours of making sympathetic noises while [Friend #2] yo-yos back and forth between hyperactive cheerfulness and all but sobbing — even in a restaurant — over her recent troubles. She has been a good friend, so we are as supportive as we can be, genuinely, but the almost non-stop stream of [Friend #2]’s words plus the emotional whiplash becomes exhausting.

Eventually, though, it’s time to arrange transportation back, and we are at [Friend #2]’s mercy, when she assures us she has a buddy in the area who can meet us and give us a ride. He arrives, and we meet him over a brief drink, learning he’s actually a defense attorney. I say this as though it’s surprising because he doesn’t quite seem the type upon first impression, rather more lackadaisical and bohemian. He even tells a funny story about how he once acquired a Mexican restaurant’s old delivery van simply by commenting on it, which for some reason prompted the restaurant owners to drop the keys into his hand and say he could have it for $1500. And he bought it, because, he shrugs, why not?

I’m sure you can guess where this is going. Sadly for my boyfriend and I, we did not.

[Friend #2] and her defense attorney buddy then lead us to, yep, that very same van, which has the standard two seats in the cab, but nothing else. The back is a bare, grooved metal floor, last cleaned who knows when. The only thing in it is a pile of old shirts. Shaking his head and chuckling, the buddy says to us, “Not sure why there’s a pile of shirts in there, but, you know…” and trails off, shrugging. When [Friend #2] climbs in the passenger seat and cheerfully asks, “You guys okay back there?” we don’t really have a choice but to say sure, and just sit uncomfortably on cold metal in a rickety van while a stranger drives us through a strange city, bouncing us up and down hills, chatting nonstop with [Friend #2].

We do make it out it one piece, but it is a near thing, as the buddy almost slams into a stopped car in front of us at one point, and only avoids it by mounting the curb.

Our outing ends with us basically stranded in another part of town as it gets dark and starts to rain, relying on [Friend #1] once again to fetch us. All in all, it’s not the most relaxing day of our vacation!