I pondered this off and on over the summer and now it's October. All that pondering is beginning to produce results.
We are servants of each brick.
Scatter the seed and cut the straw.
a neglected spot beneath a window.
not even a mess of mud and straw.
My brain is silent. Coffee.
The thought of it brings the smell.
Patrick is downstairs. I wonder if he's looking for a sign.
A trail of code that might comfort.
I hear beans tumbling into the grinder.
The scent of hot, dry, wooden houses.
Clear and bright. Blinding sun.
Was it wool? I can't remember.
The window unit rattles on.
I wonder at the time.
December, just north of the snow line.
My shoulder is tense from the cold and damp of this day.
"Don't Ask Me Stupid F@#&ing Questions" speaks from the wall.
He drifts back down the hall.
Again, the dryness of the summer sunroom fills my lungs.
Dusted with five spice powder.
Concerned for the future of the onions and potatoes in my bag.
In one hand, a smoking, hand rolled cigarette punctuates the gesture.
He's talking to me. Asking me questions.
Wearing Sui's sweater, but I don't know that.
I hadn't known them together really.
Just a dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
Some surprise that I could use chopsticks.
That was in the eyes. No language barrier there.
A drive to the airport.
I'm back in the doorway to the kitchen.
Patrick's on a volunteer trip.
Rebuilding palapas near an archeological site.
He said he'd call from San Antonio.
That sweater barely covers his sides.
Steam billows up from the wok.
The sweater is taught between the shoulders.
It was July. It was hot out and in.
Sui was making her way.
I marvel at the bags and boxes in the pantry.
Chinese writing and strange illustrations.
He has no Idea what this stuff is.
An architect on her way to a career in Hong Kong.
Biding time, both of us.
I hear our Border Collie on the stairs.
Outside the window it is snowing.
I turn to see her navigate the doorway.
My slippers are saddled over her shoulders.
Brimming with herd dog pride.
I realize my feet are still bare from my shower.
Patrick's phone signals an email's arrival.
It is Sui. I carry the phone into the hall.