Happy

For showing me chivalry is not dead.

Knock-knock-knock. "room service!" a terribly disguised high pitched mans voice called from the other side of the door. I was in the middle of a solid nap, what is going on? What time is it? Who is that?

I open the door, eyes a little blurred as the sun shines in. What are you doing? I'm terribly confused by my mid day nap and the Australian fellow I met the night before, who I never thought I'd see again, standing before me. "I'm here to take you for a sunset dinner" you're kidding me right? "I know this really good seafood restaurant right in the beach best sunsets ever, you like seafood?" I'm allergic. "me too", he has this stupid grin on his face the whole time.

We hop in a cab and take to a different part of the island, about a thirty minute ride. He's right. The sunset is perfect and we have a spot with our toes in the sand, bingteng, and some sort of make shift vegetarian meal. Aside from seafood there was only chicken, which he refrained from eating because of me. An extremely kind gesture but I didn't mind either way.

Next I know, an Asian version of a Mariache band is making it's way towards us, luckily belting out top 40 of the decades. As they finish a song just down for us Happy yells, "it's my honeymoon!" No. He. Didn't. The band, all giddy, makes there way over. "sing us a love song" I can feel my face burning with embarrassment and he still has that grin on his face. Ok, boom boom (my Indo name) lighten up. Needless to say my "wedding song" is "everything I do" by Bryan Adams. Followed by "Summer of '69." Ha!

This guy is an utter riot and his carefree attitude has me on the edge of my seat at all times. He's so out there and random, where did this creature come from? Aside from bareing an uncanny resemblance to Keifer Sutherland, I think I'll keep him.

Close to ten we start heading back, this time to Seminyak instead of Kuta, thank god, Kuta is giving me Dengue. He tells the cabbie where to go as I don't know up from down and he's been here a handful of times. Guess where he took me. This is it...Get ready!

I step out the cab to pumping music, rainbow flags, and Drag Queens. "Lady Gaga show tonight, darling" says the ridiculously cute little gay boy. I turn around and face Happy. Now I have the stupid grin on my face. "I love you"  gay bar after gay bar I have a surge of ecstasy flowing through my veins like a junky who just got their fix. Actually it's exactly the same. Im surprised I didn't spontaneously combust and leave the streets showered in glitter. We settle into one of the many clubs with a drag show, and wow, what a drag show. Of course all the queens are also mourning the loss of Miss Whitney so you can bet ever second number had a Whitney strutting in on the tables. My favorite was the very first, 90's Whitney, with the short bouncy curled bob. I'm on the floor at this point, having a fit of joy. Could this girl work it. Right down to the quick little head head twitch, you know what I'm saying. Some real sass.

I could clearly go on and on about how amazing this street was, I even managed to meet a Toronto DJ, who is definitely right up Ezra's alley, We fell instantly in love. And then I fell in love with the pole dancers. Two guys, one pole...wait...three poles? But these guys were really talented, both just swinging around one pole, I thought it was going to be a bloodbath, they were graceful as swans.

Happy had such good humor about all of it, he danced more than I did and the boys loved him, I thought he was going home with them at the end of the night the way things were looking. He didn't even bat an eyelash when one of them planted a kiss on him, ha! What a sport.

Before the night was over we ended up on the street with a bunch of locals drinking Arak (never do it, please.) playing the guitar and djumbai. Happy loved dedicating any song about a girl to me and stared me right in the eye as he sang. Oh, brother.

To top the whole experience off he even went with me to the airport to see me off, right to the gate. As I'm going though security I can hear him wailing Cyndi Laupers "Time after time" in the distance.

Fun fact: What a treat!