in the club looking so conspicuous

I'm in a different hotel in a different small town in the great American west (although Iowa is firmly Midwest, so I don't think this counts). Today's trip was smooth - I had breakfast in my hotel in Kearney (the buffet is reopened, which I gave a side eye to, but I was far from other people and the sausage lured me in (that's what she said)). Then I drove a few hours across Nebraska and into Iowa. I got to my destination right around two, checked in, and had an hour to relax, eat the food I'd grabbed along the way, and make myself look presentable.

A little after three, [censored] showed up and took a few minutes to freshen up before we drove the six minutes over to my niece's wedding. (note: it's [censored]'s niece too, but maybe that gives you too much of a clue about who [censored] is). Sammi actually got married last year, as many couples did, but she does opted for a ceremony this year. The ceremony was nice, and the reception was fun - they had a taco bar for the dinner, which was delish (again, I look askance at buffets these days, especially since I found out a bunch of people from the groom's family were missing because they currently have covid, but I was assured that they didn't have any contact with the people at the wedding; and also, who can resist a taco? (that's what he said)).

Ssssanyway. I sat at a table with [censored] and my sister and her husband + my other niece + her boyfriend, who got the full vetting since it was our first long interaction. My nephew wasn't there due to the fact he and his wife just had a baby (valid) and my parents weren't there because it's been a rough few weeks/months healthwise (also valid), but I really enjoyed hanging out with Allie and drinking a variety of drinks of the two-ingredient variety (aka whiskey and ginger ale, gin and tonic, Jack and coke).

[Censored] and I left after doing some dancing, so I was back at my hotel around 9:30. [Censored] opted not to stay and instead drove back to his abode, which he made it to safely - I was tempted to go to my parents' instead of staying here, but was too tired and had a too-late-in-the-game jack and coke that was mostly Jack, so I opted to lounge in bed, take the pressure off my belly, and play some games on my phone. My belly is substantially better post surgery, but it starts to hurt if I sit upright in a chair for too long, which is basically what I did today between the drive and the wedding.

And now I should sleep - goodnight!