I say 'first' with more confidence now that Adrian and his girlfriend, Wynne, have come to Marfa. They liked it and I am glad; I thought they would. Adrian probably would have liked it even better if he could have walked from place to place, but he is still limited due to his recent bicycle accident, and was using a very stylish cane to get from the car to each destination.
They got in late on Thursday, and I waited up for them after training another new bartender to close down for the night. Work helped distract me, but I still spent that evening on needles and pins once the sun went down knowing that the small highways of west Texas weren't lit and had some winding parts. Cell phone reception comes and goes, and Adrian indulged my frequent texts to make sure Wynne was staying awake and that they were on the right track. When he texted that they were 10 miles away, I turned on the grill and tossed on the bread and cheese for sandwiches. I stood in the middle of the street next to Padre's to flag them down (we still need to get a better sign!), and almost hurt Adrian by hugging him so hard the second he got out of the car. They had picked up a little stray dog in Sonora, and it enjoyed running through the bar while we made plans for the weekend. By coming on Thursday, they ensured that Wynne would be available to help out with the big wedding rehearsal dinner that Padre's was hosting the next day, and that we would be able to get Food Shark. Since it's only open Tuesday through Friday for lunch, I considered this a major coup.
The party went off without a hitch, and we celebrated with dinner at the high-end restaurant around the corner. I had set foot in Cochineal on three other occasions, but never managed to actually dine there. I instructed them to order whatever they wanted, and they both got the rib eye steak. It was Wynne's first steak, and I'm afraid it's all downhill from here for her.
Ellie, the sweet woman who rents out rooms above the coffee shop (one which Paul and I stayed in so the kids could have our place), paid the nicest compliment to both Adrian and his girl. Wynne had stopped by her little vintage shop in one of the rooms and picked out a very cute 50's dress. Ellie was impressed with her and said that Adrian, who was waiting downstairs, must be a really great guy to have a girl like her. Yep.
Their visit ended Sunday with lunch at Padre's. Adrian's dad and his band mate Carter, who just happened to be playing in Alpine that weekend, joined us. Adrian finally got to play air hockey with a worthy opponent, and I got to feed him one more time before sending him back home. One more piece of my quest to make Marfa my new home is complete: I know my boy will be back, and now he knows the way.
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