8. Kate Comes to Philly
Early summer, following flower show
Since writing about my previous 7 adventures, I've had another one. I've decided that from here on out I'm gonna journalize my encounters within a few days after they're over. Now I find it nice to write about my life as it happens, just like streaming sound files play as they download. Anyway, Kate & I have just met F2F (face-to-face) again; she flew to Philly, just like I had hoped in an earlier chapter. Financially able to visit me & burned out from catering, she took 3 days off. Our work schedules were sort of opposites; I had weekends off, whereas she worked all 7 days & weekends were peak business days. So we agreed that Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday would be our days together.
Kate booked a red-eye flight so she could keep her fare down. Her plane arrived in Philly at 5 AM on Tuesday; I woke up extra early so I could pick her up at the airport. I found a short-term parking space, then rushed into the terminal building. As soon as I entered, there she was, baggage & all, waiting right by the entrance. This time she was wearing blue jeans & a white tank top with a little cleavage showing. We embraced tight for 15 seconds, then gathered her luggage & walked to my car. During the drive across the river & to my house, we said little other than that we were excited to see each other again after almost a year & a half, this time we were meeting on my turf, & we'd get to spend more time together than we could the first time. Before long, we pulled into my driveway, parked & unloaded her luggage from the trunk. While she carried one bag, I carried the other. I unlocked the front door & led her inside. I locked it again behind us & we lay the bags at the foot of the bed. It was still not quite 6, so I set my alarm clock back to 7, the time I normally set it for. We had an hour to simply lie in my bed in each other's arms, nothing but which we were inclined to do as we were both tired.
An hour seems like only a minute when one is as tired as we were. My alarm clock screeched, & I had to get up & shower. So I kissed Kate on one cheek, whispered that she could sleep as long as she needed to, kissed her other cheek, & sauntered into the bathroom.
After drying myself, I slowly & silently emerged from the bathroom & got dressed, glancing every now & then at the snow-white southern belle who lay sound asleep. Aside from her presence, I went through my usual routine, fixing myself breakfast, picking up the paper from the front porch, & reading whatever news caught my eye as I ate. By 9:00 I was in my office & logged in. For the next few hours it was business as usual.
Shortly after 11, I heard water running, which meant that Kate had caught all the Z's she needed & was taking her shower. After about another half hour, she opened the door between the bedroom & the office, then hugged me around my left shoulder with her left arm. So for a minute I turned away from my computer screen.
"Good morning, Kate. I see you've slept well by now. There's plenty of food in the kitchen, so make yourself at home. By the way, did you bring a book with you?"