We woke up Sunday morning with good intentions of housecleaning and running errands but then the idea of a bus ride into downtown and a movie and maybe some picture taking crept into our brains. It was music to my ears when he said, “maybe we should do chores after our adventure.” And in a blink of an eye we found ourselves standing on the side of the road bracing the cold and praying it wouldn’t snow. It was at this point that I commented on how I should have layered better and he mentioned how he wished he had a hat so we ran back to the house gambling that we could make it back before the bus.
Standing in my closet tossing around scarfs and socks and boots we heard the rumble and then a “cchhhh” as the driver braked outside our door. “There goes the bus,” he hollered. But I wasn’t worried. I had a plan B. Down the hill and around the corner would be another bus at another stop that would take us to nearly the same place. So we stepped back out into the frigid air ready for our adventure.
Silly me, I had the times all wrong and the bus wouldn’t arrive for another half hour. Never mind, I told him. We’ll just keep walking to keep warm and we’ll catch the bus further down the road. He grumbled some and rolled his eyes because of course we could have waited in our warm house for the bus that stops outside our door or we could have been more American and simply taken the car. But he did play along and we walked and walked and worked up a serious appetite. By the time we made it into downtown our only mission was food.
At the top of a tower we discovered Mexico and indulged in lime salted chips and chunky salsa. Then came the grilled provolone with crispy eggplant smothered in chimichurri sauce and a mound of nearly raw garlic bits. The crispy, sweet plantains were used for scooping and this was clearly not a first date. But we were still lovey, dovey hovering over the same plate – half for him and half for me. He seasoned our spinach and portobello mushroom enchiladas with spicy Tapatio and we reminisced about our real first dates where all things spicy brought us closer and garlic was a staple.
“Would you like dessert?” the waiter asked. And we said, “no they look much too delightful.” So we braced ourselves to go back out into the cold where we would dodge street preachers and cheering girl scouts pimping their goods to the weak. We ventured through alleys and peered into windows until it was time for caffeine. “Make it a triple,” I mumbled from behind my lens and he joined me with a steaming latte and cookies for two.
We watched Watchmen on the big screen. It was visually beautiful and horrifyingly dark and I’m not sure I’d reccomend it. But he loved it and phoned his son to say so and after seeing boys and girls alike fully engrossed in the novel on the bus ride home, perhaps it’s only my who doesn’t get it.
We wrapped up the evening with hot soup and burnt toast. The chores got done and it had nothing to do with me. I was catching up with Photoshop and Flickr and my Reader which is bursting at the virtual seams. The day was lovely; just about us. Now it’s back to the work week and unfortunately, back to snow.
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