Had a pretty decent workshop period this morning and afterward there was a quick, fun lunch, some library giggles, and then Marilyn and I retreated once more to the sanctuary that is Starbuck's. I learned that getting the 'tall' rather than the 'venti' leads to more flavor and satisfaction. Tis a good lesson and reminder: quality over quantity. We talked about our novels with passion and when we returned to the school we were still buzzing with ideas and revelations.
The commencement ceremony happened tonight and we said tearful goodbyes to five wonderful students. I only just met them about nine days ago and already I get a strong sense that I will be missing them greatly. We had a little reception wherein there was sparking wine (of a sort) and some really fun deep-fried finger foods being carted around elegantly by waiters who were dressed to the nth and even wore white gloves. Some of us lingered and lavished love upon the graduates while others mingled for what would be our last time together as an assembled group. At some point there was mention of a group photo for the fiction students. We all gathered around our workshop leader and smiled. Snap. Snap. It had to be taken twice. I called out happily, childishly, "That one's going in the yearbook." It made Sandra laugh. I felt it was a rather appropriate comment since she had mentioned once or twice that I obviously needed to get past high school.
After the graduation, the 'sexy six' (which is what Randall Kenan called our group) went to the Ninety-Nine, a fun little Massachusetts restaurant with some pretty satisfying food. I had macadamia chicken and, I'm not going to lie, there were some serious taste bud orgasms happening throughout the meal. It took a while to get to the restaurant and in that it was slightly stressful and, once we were all back at the dorms again, the charm of the residency began to wear off. There was and is packing to be done before we say goodbye tomorrow and go our separate ways.
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