A Tale of a Hobbit’s Journey to Downtown Denver.

I didn’t want to go to the movie last night.

No, honestly, I didn’t. Jackie couldn’t go, obviously the Boy couldn’t go, and the only places within 25 miles of my house running the midnight show was the big-but-uncomfortable Continental, and the Denver Pavilions (great theatre, but downtown Denver, on the outer cusp of the 25 mile range).

I wasn’t going to go. I had looked at tickets, considered, and decided that I didn’t need to be one of the elite geeks with the 12:01 timestamps on their tickets.

Then one of my co-workers started to beg.

I should explain that this guy is fairly new to the company, and in my department, and recently read my book and gave me some good feedback from the point of view of a guy who doesn’t really get ‘into’ the genre… a point of view I couldn’t simulate myself. I felt like I owed him. He’d just bought the Trilogy, had started reading the first book, and was all into geeking out and going to the midnight showing.

He begged. I called Jackie. She was cool with it.

Now, I don’t like driving downtown in Denver. There’s a free parking garage under the building that the theatre is in, but I can never find it and always end up paying to park somewhere. I wanted to take the light rail down there — its terminal station is only a little ways from the house, and it’s 2 bucks to ride and be stress free — one of it’s drop points is two blocks from the theatre.

Problem: the train doesn’t run from 1 am to 5 am, and the movie gets out at 3 am. The coworker said no problem: the station where I’d leave my pickup was ten minutes from his house, and he was going to be downtown anyway, so we’d meet at the theatre, and he’d just drop me off at my pickup afterwards. I was pleased with this idea.

So I got tickets. He did the happy dance.

—

I was a little late getting to the train, so I missed the ride that would have gotten me to the theatre at 10 and got the one that got me there at 10:20. I’d ordered online, so I was sort of locked into going to this theatre. The plan was that I’d get there earlier, get tickets and get in line, then he’d call my cell when he got there, and I’d get his ticket to him somehow. He was going to spend the first part of the night doing other stuff downtown.

As it turned out, the ticket-tearing guy was very cool and took down the guy’s name, took his ticket, and said he’d get it to him. My co-worker would show up, call me, and I’d just tell him to ask the ticket guy. Piece of cake.

They were letting people into the seats already, and I was still pretty early, so I got great seats. I set my coat on the second one, pulled out the second TPB of Planetary and killed some time.

So, I finished Planetary (great book, btw, with an intro by Joss Whedon), checked my watch, and it was 11:15. I’m not concerned, because the guy said he’d pry get there about a quarter of. I have one of the many many many geeks around me watch my stuff and get up once, and wait.

15 minutes of: trivia contest with swag. 111 years old, 144 guests, etc etc. Still no guy.

12:01, no guy. Movie starts. My cell phone is on ‘movie’ setting, which is one single beep and a lit up screen. I have it on my leg and in my peripheral vision.

The movie happens. For three hours, it happens. The editting is superb, the screenplay is a brilliant and faithful adaptation (with the exception of one line from Gimli near the end of the 2nd hour :P). I cheer, I jump, I go “OOOOOOH” more than I can count. I am awed.

The entire event is colored by the fact that, in the back of my mind, I don’t know how the FUCK I’m going to get home.

The movie ends. We all clap and cheer. I love the director (did The Frighteners). He’s a damn genius… he creates the kinds of fights I love to see in my head when I GM. It’s awesome. I’m going on Saturday, and I’m taking my folks the weekend after, at the least.

I get up, I go out, I wait in a long line for the restroom and check my phone, which tells me there are no missed calls, which I already knew.

I consider calling my wife, but it’s 3:15, and I want to make sure it’s a complete washout first.

I leave the theatre slowly. I leave the Pavilions slowly. I look around at parked, running cars a lot. No one.

He got my cell phone number beforehand. I didn’t get his. I trusted him.

I get to the train terminal. It is 3:30 am. The next train runs at 4:45.

Now, I know it’s a wash, but by the time Jackie gets there, the train would be running anyway. Also, I know she’s going to want to kill my co-worker ANYWAY, on my behalf, and I don’t want her to have it be personal as well. She holds grudges for years, anyway.

So… It’s cold. I’ve got some knit, unlined gloves, a cap, and my coat, with a hooded pullover sweatshirt underneath.

I pace. I think about getting rolled for my jacket. (Jackie got me a beautiful leather coat for Christmas, did I tell you?) It takes me 1 and a half minutes to go the length of the train stop, walking slowly.

The next hour is cold, and slow, and not exactly serene.

I see 7 taxi-cabs and consider the 50-dollar fare that a drive back to my pickup would cost me. I see no police cars. I see several people who, like me, have no business being out this late at night. I try to look like less of a target (not exactly frail or flubbery, so not a problem).

For about fifteen minutes, I hang out in one of those ATM bank atriums that you have to have an ATM card to get into after hours. I feel safer and a little bit warmer. There isn’t any wind at least. I can’t see the train stop, though, and I’m not sure when it comes by, so back to the street.

The train finally comes at 4:45. The conductor is rude.

Jackie’s alarm clock goes off as I come in the door to the house, two hours later than planned. I sleep for a couple hours and go to work.

The guy asks, “where were you last night? I waited.”

“Please don’t tell me you were there.”

“I was. I didn’t see you.”

“You had my phone number, so don’t tell me you didn’t see me.”

Long silence. I get my laptop plugged in. “Umm. No, sure I was.”

“I’m not having this conversation right now.”

Headphones. We work in the same department. Desks are 10 feet apart. No one’s hanging around me today. He went to QA for the day and hasn’t been back.

Good movie. Lost faith in the people I know, but a damn good movie. Everyone should see it. Brilliant.