For about five years now a certain group of friends and I have been going to Shore House in Long Beach for dinner after the Photo Department closes. It was the only decent place to eat open after 10:00pm. Don’t even go there with Denny’s.
We haven’t been there in about six months because we’ve all either been too busy with our own lives or just too lazy to meet up. We’ve all had some major changes in our lives since then so we decided to meet up. John now has a driver’s license and a car, Chris is having a baby (we didn’t see that one coming), Matt and Kari have decided to split up, Krista got back together with her boyfriend, and I’m getting ready to get rid of my house in Vegas. I guess we aren’t the same people we were six months ago.
When we all arrived at Shore House the place was dark. WTF? We peaked in through the windows. Our usual table was gone, replaced by a row of booths. Were they closed for remodeling? We decided to see if there was a note on the door explaining why it closed. Health code violations. Damn.
What happened to us? Not only have we changed, the place we’ve called our own for years is now gone. When it does reopen it’s not going to be “our” Shore House anymore. We headed over to Harbor house and talked about the changes in our lives and where we are now. We talked about ridiculous things and some sentimental ones. This was us. Even if we weren’t the same person, we were the same group of friends. We still enjoy each other’s company and talk about anything and everything.
I guess this begins a new era in friendship and we’ll have to find a new place to call our own, but I’m looking forward to this. Despite the changes, we are moving forward and that’s a good thing.