Zigzags

We did, in fact, have some exquisite treats at Les Madeleines, rich but not too sweet. I love the way we can sit together quietly, the silence a comfort amid all the bustle and noise.

Last night we got with a couple of friends and ordered the usual at the Rio Grande Cafe. Dave was a little late, and we all thought we knew what he wanted, but waited for him to arrive - and order what we'd figured.

All lives are strained at the moment, the money tight, the health shaky, jobs an irritation in their presence or absence, pregnancy and difficult classes, a wedding in California, the national and global anxiety pressing into every available crack. D at first sighed that he would miss another friend's wedding, so I told him - you go. We can afford for one of us to attend, with a little help on that end. Fair's fair, I got to go to the last one. He said no, too much, didn't want to go alone. But checked the price of a ticket, so I knew the idea appealed.

"Go, I'll miss you, but you really do want to go. Call C and Moira, see what they say." It took a bit longer, a few more chews, and he calls C, who checks with Moira, and they encourage him as well. So, for a few days, Moby and I will miss D, but he'll be in a surround of friends, which he needs very badly indeed.

Sometimes, one simply must zigzag off randomly, shake up the M&Ms, drop the bag of frozen peas, unrut oneself.