Reinforcements

You know the text. It comes through at approximately 12:05 am on a Saturday night. An often misspelled and emoji-ridden piece of communication, typically along the lines of "Where u at?"

Awaking from your sweet slumber, you grope for your phone on the nightstand. It blinks, illuminated, in the darkness. OR you glance over at your glowing phone, sitting on the coffee table, as you're curled up on the couch, midway through an entire TV series that you've been binging (only a season and a half to go, you can easily finish that before bed). It's not a ring, just a text alert. No one is calling, which means it's not an emergency.

Knowing full well what awaits, you glance at the sender. Figures. It's usually them. They tend to be out and about at this hour. At that point, you can chose to ignore, or fire off a quick response. You can be super ambitious and take action, or just stay where you are and make an excuse / pretend not to have seen it.

Because you know that text all too well: they're calling in reinforcements.

Ring a ding ding ding - is that Voldemort calling?

We've all been there. You're out, having a night on the town, when the wind changes. The night was going so well, but something has shifted. The vodka says, "You need to text the others." This can be for any number of reasons, but it's usually one of the following:

1. It occurs to you that one (or more) of your friends is missing out on the fun. You can't let them miss out. How bummed out will they be when you're all talking about how fabulous this night was, and they weren't there? The justified FOMO would be intolerable. Can't risk it, best get them to join. At least you can say you tried.
2. Everyone else has started to taper off, but you're still rarin' to go. The first sign of someone checking their watch, or opening up the Uber app, and you're worried. Your buzz is going strong and you'll be damned if you're going to cut it off because someone else wore the wrong shoes and is bitching about going home. The night is young and you can't paint this town alone!
3. The current company has gotten, well... boring. You don't want to hear so-and-so's work story again, or listen to the same rehashed tale of yesteryear. This crew needs some fresh blood. You need a match to relight the fire. An addition to the group will mix things right back up, surely.
4. Something has triggered a memory. Their name gets brought up, you run into an old mutual friend, TLC pops on the jukebox, etc. Whatever it is, it reminds you that this other person is not currently present. You need to tell them to be, so they can skip down memory lane with you - it's a lonely lane to tango on alone. They'll love laughing at that one drunk bitty at the bar who reminds you of some other lush you both saw out once. You need someone to appreciate how similar she is to that person in your shared recollection. You miss them and your shared mind space.
5. You need a protector. There's a bunch of aggressive predators about and you just don't want to fight the "let me buy you a drinks" alone (as your current group isn't helping due to obliviousness or inebriation). OR, sometimes you just know you're hitting the point of no return. You've got the one friend who will always have your back and get you home safe, and you know you'll have a strong need for that person come bar close. The legs are hitting jelly mode, and when they go, you need a jar to catch you.
6. Just because. A boozy brain doesn't always have logic.

When I see the backlit glow, and read the name of the sender, it makes my heart smile. I may be being lazy, and firmly planted in the confines of my home, but out there, celebrating life, is a good friend. And they are wooping it the hell up. Granted, if I read the text and find out it's a number five scenario, I'm less happy and more a frantic flurry of PJ pants and shoes, trying to find my keys to go save them, but, that's just how life goes sometimes.

As the first day of spring approaches, my hibernation period will finally be coming to a close. At that point, the tables will turn, and I won't be on the receiving end of the call for reinforcements as often. Though, to be fair, I may be the sender a good deal more often... know that I send nothing but love, and try not to be too peeved that I'm pinging you at abnormally late hours. I just miss your face, is all. Just send in the cavalry and we'll discuss proper adult behavior another day.

(And you better put those dancing pants on before you walk out the door!)