While you were sleeping I was…..

You guys are going to love this story and yes it is true.  As a matter of fact it happened last night (Tuesday).  Here we go.

After watching an episode of Flip or Flop on HGTV, I said good night to Lou and climbed into bed next to Tiara.  I laid there for about 20 minutes scrolling through my phone until I was so exhausted I was able to fall asleep. 

At 1:00 am I woke up, super typical for me.  I got up, got some water, went to the bathroom, told Lou to get off the couch and get into bed, and then checked the lock on the front door.  UGH!!!!!  The top lock wasn’t latched which meant Tabitha wasn’t home.  I was pretty mad since it was a Tuesday night and she had no business being out this late.  It was her friend’s 21st birthday and they had organized a surprise party earlier in the night but I also was annoyed with her because it is now officially summer and all her college friends come home and want to go out all the time.  They don’t work everyday like her and yet she won’t say no, so I get super bugged.  Back to bed,  annoyed, I went.

Lou had taken my spot in the big bed with Tiara so I climbed into the twin bed.  Good, a little time alone.  I prayed. 

“Please God help me to stop worrying about Tabitha.  She is 21 years old.  Help her to make good decisions and care for her while she is out.  Please watch over her.  Amen”

I closed my eyes, turned on my side and told myself one more time, ” Just sleep Tiffani, she is fine.”

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard someone pounding on the front door.  I mean seriously pounding over and over again.  I jumped out of bed super mad, knowing it was her.  I got to the front door, saw her image through the glass and flung open the door. 

” Why are you pounding on the door.” 

her:  “Everything got stolen!. she screamed.  My purse, my wallet, my phone, my new $500 reading glasses I bought on Sunday, my lipsticks, and my keys.”

me:  ” What the fu,**!!!!!!  How could that happen? 

her: “I put my purse down on the bar and when I looked up it was gone.  I tried locating my phone with track my phone but the password isn’t working.”

DEEP BREATHS TIFFANI….

Out comes Trinity from her room.  “Mom is everything ok?”

me:  “Yes, Honey, just go back to bed.  Tabitha, Sit down!”

We sat down at the computer and tried to locate her phone.  After many attempts of her trying to remember the correct icloud username and password, we got into her account.  PHONE IS OFFLINE!”  Gosh Dangit!

me:  “Which bar were you at?”

her:  “Blackies, I mean Beach Ball at the pier.”

me:  “See, I told you not to go to those disgusting bars.  Ohhhhh.  Where you with … (boy I am not a fan of)? “

her:  “Yes, you know I was.” 

me:  “See this is the kind of crap that happens when you hang out with him.”

her:  “No, Mom his phone got stolen too and he was really trying to help me.”

me:  “Get some shoes on, we are going down there.  Hurry!  Maybe someone took your phone and cash and then tossed everything else in a garage can or a dumpster?”

 

I went into the bedroom, got on a bra, my leopard sweats, my reading glasses and a black shirt.  Looking hot, NOT!  Lou was still dead asleep oblivious to the whole tragedy unfolding.  I tucked Trinity back into bed, reassured her it was fine, grabbed the mag light and we left.  I had lots of “I told you so’s”, and “see what happens you stay out late and drink too much” lectures all the way there.

It was now about 1:40am.  We get down to the pier and I pull right in front of the bar.  In I walk, with Tabitha trailing behind me.  I have never in my entire life of living in Newport Beach entered this dive bar.  It was small, dirty but not as dark as I expected.  There was a loud group of 5 people sitting at the bar, who looked just like Tabitha’s crew, but the rest of the place was empty.

As soon as I entered the bartender saw me.  “Can I help you mam?”

me:  “Yes, My daughter got her purse stolen here tonight, did anyone turn it in?”  He looks at Tabitha and says:

him:  “I know.  Actually everyone in the bar knows.  We tried to help her locate her phone on the tracking device but it didn’t work.  Sorry.”

me:  “Thanks.”

As we start to walk out the group at the bar starts talking to us.  We keep walking, ignoring them.  We start looking in random trash cans with the flashlight in case they took the phone and dumped everything else.  As we got about a block away the girl from the bar starts yelling at us with a rather aggressive tone.

random girl:  “HEY, GET BACK HERE!!!  My purse got stolen too, are  you just going to leave us!  I said come back.” 

Tabitha:  “Leave us alone.”  We keep walking and so follows random scary drunk girl. 

What the hell?  Are we going to get into some kind of brawl?  She won’t stop yelling at us and is start to gain speed.  Then Tabitha says:

“Don’t worry Mom,  we have the mag light I can take her.”

me:  “Don’t you even think of using that mag light on someone.  I going to kill you before she kills us.”  The drunk girl finally gives up and turns around.

We continue to make our sweep of the trash cans, the dark alleys, run into a few homeless men, get stopped by a few guys getting onto motorcycles asking Tabitha if she found her purse yet.  Apparently everyone at the pier knew she had gotten her stuff stolen because as soon as she realized it, she stopped people and practically strip searched them.  Ok, that is me exaggerating but she did cause a rather large scene.

We finally got in the car and made a plan on the way home.  DMV in the am, call AAA to get her spare key out of her car (yes, super smart move to keep the spare in your car), cancel atm and credit card, get new phone, etc. etc. 

Once in the house she went straight to bed but my night wasn’t over.  Trinity was still awake.  I got into her bed and rubbed her head until she fell asleep.  I heard something.  Up again.  Ohhh, Tiara is now laying on the floor next to the bed with her oxygen off.  She is too heavy for me to move, so I put her head on a pillow, put her oxygen back on and cover her with a blanket.  Lou you ask, is still sleeping.  Yep!

More water, use the bathroom again and then decide to try and locate her phone on the computer again.  No luck.  Back to bed with Trinity.  Another noise.  Tiara has gotten up, moved to the bed but is only half on.  Re-adjusted her and got back in bed with Trinity.  I drift off to sleep dreaming of stolen phones at 4:00am. 

6:45 am alarm goes off.  I get up.  Walk into the kitchen, pass Tabitha who is already on the computer dealing with her life and Lou is making the coffee. 

him:  “Hi Honey!”

me:  “Did you hear what happened last night?” 

him:  “No, what?.”

WOW!

And so I told him the story of dumpster diving, getting stalked by a drunk girl, entering the bar in my Mom sweats and bed head and Tabitha’s big loss.

him:  “Wow, I’m sorry.”

Yeah, me too.

And the moral of the story is: don’t take off your purse or put down your iphone in any public place, especially in an edgy dive bar!

p.s.  Normally Tabitha wouldn’t let me print something like this, but she offered to let me write about it after all we went through.

xoxo tiffani