Travel Notes, Ruminations, and Whatnot #3—02/01/06 late a.m.

The timing of this trip could not be better. There is something about K & P and Baby A that’ll cure what ails you. Part of it is that after nearly twenty years we know one another as well as we know ourselves—perhaps better. With them it is o.k. to be familiar, crude, crass, vulnerable, stoic, an ass—in short, myself. Do not misunderstand. Of my many flaws, not being myself is not one of them. Ever. But with K&P it is different. Different in a way that keeps negativity at bay. Different in a way that relegates cynicism to crevasses—not necessarily replacing it but displacing it. And that is a good thing. They are good friends to have.

Perhaps this evening we will drink Veuve Clicquot. Toast the lightening of things. Perhaps we’ll rehash old stories and laugh. Always laughter. And when Baby A turns in, I’ll read her Wet Dog, explain the virtues of Georgia football over Florida football, make disparaging remarks about her father, and kiss her forehead goodnight. And I will miss doing the same with Emerson. But I’ll speak to him the way I always do when I am away from him. And he will hear me. And he will smile as he falls asleep, knowing he is loved and missed.

I think I will then pour another glass of champagne and laugh some more.