Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Fifty-Nine

1. It’s going to be hot.

2. Coffee. Bacon. Two eggs. I stare out of the window. This is not an ideal morning for coffee outside.

3. I tell her that I feel a little more relaxed now because she said we don’t have to move if we don’t want to. And, with that knowledge, I feel as though I can rest.

4. We unroll the carpets. One goes under the dining room table, the other goes under the sofa. Progress. A little bit of softness added.

5. We play phone tag. I wonder if it’s just a reception thing.

6. Leon Bridges as we make our way out to Sebastopol. The sky is hazy and all the colors of the landscape are muted.

7. Carnitas and a cold beer.

8. “I don’t like that guy.” "I don’t either. He was totally staring us down when we were sitting on the sofa. He’s not from here.” “No.”

9. What does it mean when I say that someone is not from here? I am not from here either. In this moment, it just means that he doesn’t appear to be displaying the brand of kindness that I’ve become accustomed to since living here. Or, he’s just cranky and hot. Aren’t we all?

10. We make homemade pasta and focaccia while he makes the sauce.

11. The creaminess of ricotta and the sharpness of the parmesan.

12. “We have a lot of work to do, Alisha,” she says.