Ten.One Thousand, Two Hundred & Ninety-Three

1. So much quieter than the day before. Slightly cooler.

2. I put the pot on the stove. I fill it with water, lemons, cinnamon, some whole cloves, ginger, and the last bit of honey left in the jar.

3. Day 4.

4. I recall my conversation with her in the journal. “I told her that the thing about working is that there really isn’t much room for my own creativity anymore. It’s a double-edged sword: the ease of consistent income but the loss of creative energy.”

5. I always feel like the sun is late to greet meet. But I am always so early.

6. Ghosts, maybe? I was going to say it, but he said it first.

7. He joins us on the afternoon walk again. This time we run into a neighbor, and he decides to give her the whole rundown on the origins of their names. He tells her the incorrect ways people spell or pronounce his name.

8. Is this the hill I’m willing to die on?

9. “Why do your lips not touch when you say ‘touch,’ but they do touch when you say ‘separate’?“

10. They are FaceTiming them, and I remember how the guidance counselor said that he seemed to really enjoy spending time in New Orleans. And just the other day, she told me she wanted to go back just because she likes being around them.