Exactly one week ago today...

I spent the morning in the courthouse, albeit now quite comfortably dressed, there to support the members of my school's other team and watch them litigate their way to the competition's nationals in Florida.

I was supposed to meet the girls in Chinatown for dim sum, but I got back too late, so they agreed to come over and meet me at the hotel. We would find some lunch for me, and spend the reamining afternoon doing whatever. (It seemed that none of us cared too much, just as long as we were together!)

So as I was helping the rest of my school crew pack their stuff into the van, they showed up, and promptly helped me carry my stuff to the car. Before we set out, however, they presented me with a brown paper bag, folded over, clearly containing goodies.

In the bag was a set of "Best Buds" notecards. The inside of the box reads: "These charming characters joyously convey the universal message that the world is a little brighter because of our friends."

How true that is. The notecards came from Kate's Paperie in New York City, where I would have been with them a few weeks ago. The bag also contained a box of Hello Kitty Pokky, which I had never seen before. Apparently the Hello Kitty store is in Chinatown, and since I didn't get back from the trial in time, they brought me a souvenir. Pokky are wafer sticks with strawberry coating on them, and they are delicious. (I am sampling one right now, and it's all I can do not to eat the whole box!)

And finally, Colleen had made me a CD with all of the New York pictures on it. Yay, Colleen! As though the photojournal wasn't enough.

I'm quickly running out of words to express what these girls mean to me. I'm just not used to such thoughtfulness.

Off we go to a place called The Marathon Cafe, where the girls got smoothies and desserts and I got a delicious honey mustard chicken sandwich. I had issues with the waiter as far as my diet Coke was concerned -- after letting my glass sit empty for a while, he brought back a refill that was barely 2/3rds of the way up the glass. That's why, when Corina pointed out that the sodas had not made their way onto the bill, I was not compelled to 'fess up.

At some point during lunch, Kate turned to me and told me that her grandmother had passed away. I never know what to say in these situations, and as evidence of my uncouthness, I completely bonked our heads together when I tried to hug her. Mild injuries notwithstanding, I was glad we were able to keep her mind off things for a few more hours, before she faced what we were sure would be a very difficult week.

After lunch, we didn't have very much time left, so we just walked and walked. I loved hearing the three Philadelphiers talk about their own personal local landmarks. I saw the restaurant where Bruce Willis and his wife had their anniversary dinner in "The Sixth Sense." And I learned that there's nothing more difficult than finding a bathroom in a big city on a Sunday afternoon.

We ended up back at the hotel, where we convinced the staff to unlock the lobby bathroom for us. We got a bellman to take our picture with Colleen's camera, and we hugged our goodbyes, but not before making plans for our next reunion.