As follows

Note: Well, here it is, the end of 2010 and the end of “A Great Yarn” - this is also, incidentally, my 150th post on this blog, which the math nerd in me loves. I started this story way back on September 7, and I’ve written a new installment every day since, with two exceptions: once when Tumblr’s server was down, and once when I just forgot. Sometimes it was a chore to write, and at those times I usually felt like apologizing to anyone who was still reading. But sometimes it was a lot of fun, these last few parts especially, and I’ll probably miss it a little now that it’s over. A shout out now to Sonali and Shantel and Erik for their input and support, and a big thanks to everyone who’s actually read any of this. If you’re feeling nostalgic, here is a link to all the parts. If you’re ready to move on, I’ll see you tomorrow at my new home: asgoodman.tumblr.com. And now, without further ado, the thrilling conclusion:

You can take the man out of a romance, but you can never take the romance out of a man. Well, that’s not true; there are lots of men with not an ounce of romance in them. But Thom Naples is not one of those men. In fact, he probably compensates for a number of them. On this particular night especially, in this surprisingly picturesque parking lot with Mindy, he was emoting quite enough for several people.

He led her to his car, not by the hand, because he worried that his was sweaty, but by his nervous walk. She made a few lighthearted comments, like “What’s all this about then,” because she sensed that something significant was about to happen, and it scared her. Not that she didn’t want it to happen, just that she didn’t quite know what it would be, only that it would change things, which is always scary.

From the backseat he retrieved the basket he’d assembled for her. He presented it to her like an object at show and tell, and proceeded to explain each part of it. The bottle of wine, because he felt so natural around her, and because they always had such fun together. The box of chocolates, because she was sweet, and he felt indulgent whenever he spent long hours with her. The mug, because he would love nothing more than to snuggle up by the fire with her and some hot chocolate. A book of famous quotations, because he loved the odd, rambling conversations they had. Wrapped in cellophane, because he wanted to look past her exterior and see what she was like on the inside. Tied with a piece of yarn, because he wanted to tie everything they had together into one package, into one life.

He realized as he made his way through this speech that he was making a fool of himself, but the only thing to do seemed to be to keep talking, and by the time he got to the part about the yarn he thought he’d actually salvaged it quite admirably.

“So, basically, what I’m trying to say,” he said, “is that I really like you. Also that I like assembling baskets of things. And I think I’d like to really give this thing we have a serious shot, if you want to do the same. If you don’t, I at least want to give you this basket.”

“It’s a lovely basket,” she said, “but you didn’t really need to do any of this.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“To whatever it is you’re asking, yes. To the basket, too. It really is a nice basket, Thom.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I’m glad you like me.”

“Yea, me too. When everything else in my life is falling apart and running away from me, it’s nice to have something that makes everything else seem irrelevant.”

“Your life isn’t falling apart. It’s just simplifying things for you, so you can focus on what’s important.”

And as he kissed her, part of Thom worried that he would never do enough to deserve Mindy. But the rest of him knew that he would do whatever it took; assemble the largest gift basket in the world, tied together with a great yarn.

For the very last time, this has been “A Great Yarn.”

Note: Just a reminder that tonight’s is the second-to-last installment of “A Great Yarn.” After that, I will be moving over to my new blog, asgoodman.tumblr.com, where I’ll stick more to pop culture writing. For the time being, enjoy tonight’s episode, click here if you need to get caught up, and be sure to check back tomorrow for the series finale!

As the evening developed, Thom felt continually more sure of himself. Mindy looked beautiful in the dim light of the restaurant - not, he might add, that she wouldn’t look beautiful in a brighter light - dressed as she was in a satin dress the color of eggshells, tied with a sash of deep purple, and around her shoulders she carried a light and thin blue shawl. It was hard to believe that she was the same person he’d met that night at Porter’s party, decked out in leopard print, and it was even harder to believe that she carried herself the same way in both outfits. Certainly he had done nothing to change her in the time between the two evenings.

They talked about food and about the foolishness of dieting, about movies about food and movies about unrelated subjects, about the first R-rated movies they saw and about their juvenile sneaking into theaters. Their only pauses were contemplative ones, to consider a novel idea or refine an argument; Thom caught himself thinking at one point that it was like a performance of jazz music, shifting effortlessly from one musical phrase to another.

And so, by the time they finished dessert, he felt absolutely sure of what he wanted to do. After some resistance from Mindy he paid the bill, then they left the restaurant.

“Can you come to my car for a minute?” he said as they reached the parking lot. “I have something for you.”

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…

If you’d like to catch up before the story wraps up, here’s a link to the earlier parts.

He met Mindy at the restaurant, a quaint French bistro on the edge of town.

“I didn’t even know this place existed,” Mindy said.

“Yea, no one eats French food anymore,” Thom said. “Once people started discovering other cuisines, everyone forgot about French food. Which is sad, because it’s the best.”

They took a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, although there were hardly any other customers. The lighting was dim, and Thom felt uncomfortable talking above a whisper.

“So I’m glad you called,” Mindy said. “It’s not been one of my better days.”

“Why’s that?”

“Oh, nothing story-worthy, just the usual boring day at work. How about you? How have you been?”

And so of course Thom had his several stories to tell. Dean moving to Sacramento, Darby to Vancouver, Dean and Cindy settling in together. And the whole fiasco resulting in his joblessness.

“Wow, sounds like you’ve been busy.”

“More like everyone around me’s been busy. I’m starting to feel the need for some big changes in my life.”

And he wasn’t sure, but it seemed to him that Mindy brightened a bit when he said that.

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…

This is the link to the previous parts.

“So, you guys are having dinner tonight?” Dean said.

“Yep.”

“Why do you have this crazy look on your face, like you’re going to do something extreme.”

“Well it’s just… I feel like everyone around me is making big, life-changing decisions, and I kinda want to make one of my own.”

“Right, but that’s because it happens to be the right time for all these people to make those choices. You don’t make life-changing decisions just for the hell of it.”

“Why not? Who’s to say I shouldn’t do something dangerously irreversible to make my life more exciting? Isn’t that what carpe diem is all about?”

“What are you thinking about doing?”

As an answer, Thom spent the next few hours before his dinner date putting together a basket of things he knew Mindy liked. There was a bottle of wine, and a box of dark chocolates, and a mug with an image of a cat on the side, and a book of famous quotations. He wrapped the basket in cellophane, left over from a gift he’d received previously, and tied it at the top with a piece of yarn.

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…

This is a link for the earlier parts.

An hour or so later, Dean came back.

“Hey, man, I’m really sorry about this,” he said. “I know it’s short notice, and I think it goes without saying I wish we could be roommates forever, but you really don’t want to come to Sacramento with me. I’d turn down pretty much any job there, except this one.”

“I understand. I’ll probably be bitter for a while, but I’ll get over it.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

And at that moment Mindy called, enjoying as she was her brief work break.

“Hey, you called earlier?” she said.

“Yea, sorry to bother you at work.”

“Well I’m still at work, but it’s fine. I’d much rather talk to you.”

And after exchanging pleasantries for a minute or so, they made plans to have dinner that night. Years later, Thom couldn’t remember who had asked whom.

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…

Here is a link to all the previous parts, in case you need it.

Thom decided then, in a moment of such sudden boredom that it bordered on desperation, to call his mother. He hadn’t spoken to her since the end of that whole affair involving his brother’s kidnapping - it occurred to him now that maybe he was subconsciously competing against that incident by creating such drama in his own life.

But she didn’t answer, and he didn’t leave a message, because he wasn’t really sure why he’d called her. Even loneliness didn’t seem like a good reason.

A few minutes later, mercifully, Darby called. He hadn’t been at all worried about explaining the whole crazy thing to his wife, and it turned out he had no reason to be; she had been hoping for some time, years even, to move the family to Vancouver, where she had always loved the scenery and where she had recently heard boasts a high-quality selection of public schools.

“So yea, we’ll be outta here as soon as we can sell the house,” Darby said.

“Well that’s great, Darby, that’s really wonderful.”

“Thanks, Thom, couldn’ta done it without you. I just hope that little disaster of ours works out so well for you. Any plans yet?”

“No, not really,” Thom said. “Well, I mean, there’s one, but it’s vague still and about as practical as the dream I had in elementary school of becoming an astronaut.”

“Hey, you know what they say. Shoot for the moon.”

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…

A MAJOR CHRISTMAS DAY ANNOUNCEMENT! At the end of this calendar year, I will be concluding “A Great Yarn.” I’ve had lots of fun writing it, but I’d hate to drag these characters through any more inanity than they’ve already had to endure. So on January 1st I will start a new project, one which will be more easily consumed in a piecemeal fashion - more on that as it develops! As for now, here are the earlier parts, and here is tonight’s installment, one of the last episodes for poor Thom and company:

For the next couple of hours Thom helped Dean pack, until Dean had to leave for a while to deal with some unspecified business. And then Thom felt truly lost, until his cell phone rang. It was Jenna.

“Oh dear, Thom, you’ve got yourself into quite a mess, haven’t you?” she said, sounding extraordinarily pleased.

“Yea, well, no thanks to you.”

“No, no, Thom, that’s all done with, obviously. You’re no use to us now that you’ve gone and gotten yourself fired. I’ll have to find somebody else of course, and that’s frustrating, but I can’t be too mad at you, Thom, that would just be cruel, seeing how you’re unemployed.”

So that was over, at least for now.

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…

This link can transport you to the previous parts, as if by magic.

And weirdly, that was when it seemed like a problem to Thom that he didn’t have a job - when he realized that Mindy still did, that his freedom was hardly worth anything if he couldn’t do anything worthwhile with it. That’s when it seemed like a problem.

“Hey, so, can I talk to you about something?” Dean said, in a voice much more hesitant than anything Thom was used to hearing from him. Dean took a seat on the couch.

“Yea, sure. What is it?”

“Well, so I got a new job.”

“Oh, man, that’s great! Be better if you’d gotten a job for me, but - kidding, what’s the job?”

“Well, that’s the thing. I’d be the speechwriter for the governor. Like, the governor of California.”

“No shit! Dude, that’s amazing!”

“It is, yea, but, well, so I’d have to live in Sacramento. No more of this phoning it in from home bullshit.”

Until tomorrow, this has been “A Great Yarn”…