We were in the backseat of a friend’s car, separately friends of the driver who was on her way to drop off a friend she and the druid knew, and that I did not know I oh-so-subtly let my hand rest on the middle of the bench seat, between us We often squeezed hands, again meeting each others’ eyes with smiles.

A few Christmasses ago, chosen-sis flung me $30 and told me to go to the Dollar Store and pick up a bunch of Christmassy decorations, figurines, and other silliness to spam the house with for the benefit of her mother. After I explained to sis what I was doing with the figurines and the snow, she left me to it, as the cats supervised.

Yesterday was a rare day I spent the totality of it awake, on my feet or in transit, and without even a nap. It started way too early when I woke up for no good reason and couldn’t easily get back to sleep