As of when I left for work today, Darkside had not gotten back to me about what the plan was for getting together with me for my birthday. So I called during break. I got his mom.

"I heard him saying something about stopping by your place on Saturday. You mean he hasn't gotten back to you yet? That turkey!"
"Yeah. Could you please ask that turkey to call and leave a message or e-mail me back?"

I got home to find two messages -- both blank -- on the machine, and his number on the caller ID. I opened my e-mail inbox as I called him. "Did you read your e-mail?" he asked. "Reading it now," I said. This time, seeing his e-mail address as the sender wasn't such an unexpected thrill, but it was still nice.

He's letting someone from work borrow his instance of the original trilogy, but he'd love to watch what I've got -- and he proposed something I hadn't even dared mention.

...My
weekend is kind of hectic, however, so I probably won't be showing up until
around noon. This was for this Saturday, correct? (Or, I could take you to
Episode III for your birthday).

Some chatting on the phone clarified this: yes, he was proposing that he take me to the movie, his treat. "It is your birthday, after all."

...

...

It's the end of the world as we know it. There is no other explanation.