A day for the taking

An elderly neighbour says he is "as good as can be expected in the circumstances."

That's not nothing.

The sunshine is finely tuned to just the right frequency, hovering between static and song. I don't have to strip off, the breeze does an expert job filtering away excess heat and regulating the temperature without adjustment.

Flowers get noticed on days like these because their fragile lives are about to get brittle.

He opens buttons. He sticks a flower in the shirt and the stem rests against his hot skin. He suggests we take the flower home and put it in water so he can wear it again tomorrow.

Just like this day. I take it home and save it for later.

Comments

I entered August without you.

I won't visit you this month. You won't call. I will raid your garden and you won't get any of the vegetables. I will make plans without telling you about them. We'll go to the store and not buy you one single thing. Whole books will be read and I will not tell you which ones. I will watch movies and not inform you. The nasturiums will ripen. Last month was different. I changed my schedule and took time off work to be with you. I dropped all kinds of plans for us to be together. You sent me messages, I received them. I picked up food that I thought you would like at the store and sent you pictures of every beautiful thing I saw. I sang with you. We watched the Great Canadian Baking Show. You chose the recipe for the garlic scape pesto and gave me instructions for making the gooseberry jam. I am in August without you. You are in July.

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