Coming Home: Part Three
Welcome back to the continuing adventures of Blackwarren Art Director Ivy Beth Gladstone as she recounts her recent trip home to Puerto Rico! Today, we pick up where we left off:
Day Three: The Work-Related Event
Waking up at my sis’ house was such a welcome turn of events. My partner saw her tending to her baby boy as they entered the restroom. I could hear the little one fussing at his mom. I got up and started to organize our belongings a little bit and could hear my sis playing Super Mario Wonder on the Switch, so I peeked in to see her play. We talked some more, a bit of time passed, and my partner, feeling fresh and dressed out of the shower, joined us in the room to watch gameplay and join in the conversation. Before we knew it, baby boy was picked up by his grandmother and they left. We finished getting ready to get brunch and left soon after.
We headed to Guaynabo, another town within the busy metro area, to arrive at the planned restaurant. “Café Si O Si” was the name; with a modem-infused take on brunch, the food was delicious. It was a lovely choice. After brunch, we headed to Old San Juan for a drive-around before heading to the hotel. We made a stop at a CVS in Condado (a very hotel central - tourist area) to get some make-up and other things we needed to have handy at the hotel. We finished up and kept driving. Check-in at the hotel was at 4 pm and arrived a bit early 3:40. I thanked my sis and her hubby for taking us and accommodating us with their loving hospitality, telling them I would see them both Friday night before they left. We managed to check in as we arrived and got our room. It was such a lovely room with a balcony. You could see and smell the ocean. You can see the coastline and all the buildings and old structures from history. The breeze was lovely and my partner just enjoyed sitting out on the balcony so much that they took a book they had brought for reading on the plane to read outside.
Seeing them basking in the breeze and enjoying our room and good book made me so happy. I, on the other hand, was still trying to plan our day for tomorrow and what was in store. I had kept in contact with one of my close friends who had been so helpful since the first day we had arrived. We were planning on going back to my house on Friday to prep and clean the downstairs so we could have it ready for a little get-together I had planned and to celebrate my father’s 76th birthday. This turned out to not be as simple when it came to communicating this plan to my father. Since the years have passed, my father is not as sharp as he once was, as his hearing has suffered and his paranoia has grown to plague him more. He had endured living with my brother, trying to take care of him as best as he could but slowly showing signs of disassociation traits. It’s heartbreaking to see that this is how my father has become. He called me five times in a span of minutes asking me either to re-explain our plan, to make requests that I wasn’t comfortable agreeing with, or to simply take pictures of the party, which I had no trouble doing.
My partner and I freshened up and got ready to attend the reason we were able to make this whole visit happen. I was trying to doll up my face with makeup and rushing to finish cause we had to be at the event by 7 pm. I was done and we shoved off. We were greeted by the son of the CEO of the company, showing us where the dining hall was. There were already people there, all dressed up in formal attire. We picked a table to sit at and just looked around as we took our seats. The space was huge; the music was live and loud. My nerves were peaked, and my partner kept telling me to calm down cause I didn’t know what to expect. In the back of my mind, I don’t know why I thought I was in trouble, but I forgot that this whole thing was just an extravagant celebration of them being able to be a company for 30 years - a very remarkable milestone. Then, familiar faces began coming closer. I lit up, seeing people I used to work with when I had originally worked there in person from 2012-2016 in person. It was all so great and nice - every person that came by shared hugs and kisses galore. Everyone was so happy to also meet my partner, with some that had kept track on mutual socials finally getting that chance to meet them. I even got to see my manager and my art director, the vice president, and the president himself. He was all smiles, happy to see the faces that had made his company flourish.
Around 9 pm they served dinner, a whole pig that had been cooked on a rotisserie and other assortments of traditional food. The music got louder and the singers ended up screaming into the mic more than a little off key. The VP herself was called up to the podium and got to sing, obviously enjoying herself. Our table was filled with more familiar faces; we all got to play Pokémon Go before getting food. Still, we didn’t have much of an appetite, with our heads hurting due to all the noise. Yet before we knew it, it was already 10 pm. The band finished, the lights came back up bright, and we called it a night. As we were heading to the exit, I was stopped by more people. We took pictures and said our goodbyes. The shoes on my feet were hurting so bad, I removed them and walked the whole way back to our room barefooted, throwing the shoes in the closest garbage bin. Happy to be back in our room, getting to unwind and change our clothes, we shortly after fell asleep.
Tune back in next time for even more adventures with Ivy in Puerto Rico!