So I wound up getting a booster shot on the 20th. Honestly I wasn't keen on getting one. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I feel like everyday they're saying something different about COVID and I question what's real vs fiction. It does seem like there is this peer pressure to get the vaccine even though it may not protect you 100%. Dom definitely was pressuring me to get it having got his around the Thanksgiving holiday. He said that he felt fine afterwards and didn't notice any symptoms.
I unfortunately couldn't say the same. I managed to get through the 20th okay but the next morning I definitely wasn't myself. Besides the shoulder pain (which I experienced with the two previous shots), I was very low on energy and felt feverish. I had to push myself to help Dom who himself is dealing with some other health issues as a result of his diabetes. He had a follow up medical appointment the same day as my shot and found out his big toe was extremely swollen up and was bleeding (he did say that he cut his toenails aggressively but didn't notice anything unusual before our weekend trip). I pushed myself to help him set up a foot bath and then dry his feet off and apply antibiotic cream to his wounds.
My appetite seemed normal though and I didn't notice the food tasting any different. Oddly enough though at some point in the evening it felt like the fever I had "broke" and I had my energy again just before bedtime. So that was a hot mess.
What also was a hot mess was the trip to see Ross. The trip itself went fine and we stopped at a Mexican restaurant twenty minutes away from the theatre for dinner and margaritas before the show. We arrived at the theatre about 15 minutes before his Christmas play started. After getting ticket verification, we ran into Ross's partner Ray. Ray was cordial as we briefly chatted and he directed us to some nearby seats.
The show itself was enjoyable. I got to see Ross perform with other cast members performing various Christmas medleys. Ross himself was hilarious as Elvis and he had other singing parts throughout.
So after the show Ross came out to greet Dom and I. He thought it would be easier if he rode with us instead of us following them, which made sense. He got a kick out of the million masks I had in the back seat and didn't hesitate to joke about it. (I do need to organize them into a couple bags since it is a bit out of hand.) The conversation went fine though I already sensed there was an awkward tension between Ross and Dom. I believe it started when Ross was reminding me about the casino that wasn't too far from him which Dom balked at immediately since he doesn't like casinos. So then Ross kept repeating it which got Dom hotter. It didn't help either when Ross mentioned his pet dog and Dom mentioned not being a fan of dogs. It was just a mess.
We got to the house and was greeted once more by Ray. We had a quick tour of the house before Ross took us to our room where we quickly changed and came back downstairs for some wine and cheese. Dom was chatting away with the guys but didn't seem to allow me to speak much. Ross ended up talking a lot about the things in his house which included several vintage juke box machines, a couple 80's pinball machines, and a baby grand. Ray excused himself for bed and the evening ended with Ross allowing us to play sample records off his jukeboxes.
Dom and I went to the guest room which was actually a separate master with its own bathroom and closet. We both prepared for bed and the toilet decided to start acting up. I didn't understand why the toilet kept running. It was full and the water was basically falling into the overflow area. Dom didn't care much for the bed either. I didn't know the brand but it was one that felt firm yet contoured to the body. Dom felt like the bed was too soft and trapping him inside and making it difficult to move around.
Dom eventually fell asleep but I found myself sneezing and needing to blow my nose constantly. To reduce the noise from the bathroom, I closed both bathroom doors. I didn't have any tissue so borrowed a roll of toilet paper to put by my beside. I finally was able to fall asleep but woke up two hours later when Dom needed to get out of the bed. Unfortunately the side of his bed was close to the wall so he needed to get out from my side. He decided since he was awake that he would go downstairs into the living room. I wasn't sure if he should since it was around 4:30 AM but he insisted. I fell back asleep for a few more hours.
I learned later that Dom inadvertently saw both Ray and Ross naked as they headed downstairs. They weren't aware that Dom was downstairs at the time. By the time I woke up which was around 7:30 AM, I found the three of them in mid-conversation. Some of it ended up being salacious conversations about various cast members. We had some conversation and then our hosts began to prepare breakfast for us. Dom was happy to see black raspberry jam as it reminded him of a time he tried to convince some friends of his about there being such an item.
It was time soon for Ray and Ross to head back to the theatre to prepare so we needed to make our exit. Dom and I quickly changed and then made our way back home.
Ross and I messaged each other a few days afterwards. He actually plans on coming up to my neck of the woods sometime in January. He plans on staying at a local hotel and we'll meet for dinner and fun. Of course everything depends on the weather.
Speaking of weather, we're supposed to be getting some crappy snowy weather for New Year's Day. I'm hating it because I have to go back to work that day. I'm hoping it won't be as bad as they're saying. The weathermen have been wrong before. We shall see.
