Shrouded in an evening fog that was just starting to lift by the time we got up and going on Saturday, Boston held its entrancing spell as Kira and I ventured forth in the morning. We were looking to find some plumbing parts for the kitchen sink pipe that was leaking. (Pause for reaction to me doing any sort of plumbing.)
Around us, Boston continued in full bloom, and the sun began to peek through the dissipating clouds. We found some pipe at the hardware store, then proceeded to Newbury Street to restore our shopping senses. Now that the initial thrill of the Levain Bakery has died down, we were able to try a couple of their cookies without waiting in line. The recipe I have does quite come close to the ones on offer here, so at $5.00 per cookie, it’s not exactly a bargain. Still, we indulged, and after walking quite a ways, with the heat on the rise and the humidity not that far behind, we wound up in the South End, resting at the former location of Francesca’s Cafe – a site that brings me back to Boston in the 90’s.
It’s a Caffe Nero now – one of many – but it provided this exquisite lemon coconut frulatto that absolutely made our afternoon. As the day’s heat reached its crescendo, we paused in the shaded nook of this cafe, watched the world pass by for a bit, then resumed our journey home. It was time for a siesta.
Somewhere on our journey home, we passed a woman with dark hair who gave us a mysterious smile that made it seem like she knew too much. I can’t explain why I felt it, but I immediately said to myself that we had just passed a witch. Now, I don’t mean that in a derogatory of negative way – in fact, I carry witches in high regard, and view them with a sort of reverence and respect. I tried explaining myself to Kira, but she wasn’t getting it, and maybe it was better that way. I just know what I felt, and I suddenly realized my view on people had changed, and I was seeing things in a way that opened up the possibility of magic and enchantment and a world I’d always shut off from lack of understanding or wanting to understand.
Back at the condo, I did a meditation while Kira took a quick nap on the couch. The afternoon light spilled into the bedroom, where I sat down lotus-style and slid into deep breathing and closed eyes. The beauty of meditation is that it can be done wherever you might be. It’s the best sort of travel companion.
Once the meditation was done, and Kira was up and about, we made motions to start the second half of the day. We set up a couple of drinks – a Paloma for Kira, and a calamansi mocktail for me – and brought them out to the front steps to watch the people peruse Braddock Park. A favorite past-time in favorable weather, we savored the minutes and the company.
The weather turned slightly, the winds picking up a bit, and I remembered our brush with the witch, and her smile. Was she a good witch or a bad witch? The world went a little quieter suddenly, and the day took its first turn onto dusk.
We finished out drinks and dressed for dinner. Unprepared with a plan, we decided to wing it with a stroll through the South End toward the seaport. A hex must have been placed, as we lost our bearings and our sense of where we were just as the sky went dim. I thought I might be losing it when I heard the opening chords of ‘Willkommen’ from ‘Cabaret’ in my head. It came out of nowhere, and I made Kira stop walking to find out if this was my long-waited and forecast break with reality.
In a little park surrounded by trees, I saw the ghostly flickering of a movie screen, and the menacing Emcee of Joel Grey peeking out from the reflection of a mirror. It could have been the stuff of horror, but instead struck me as a whimsical turn of events – finding an outside showing of ‘Cabaret’ for a small group of elderly folks set up with chairs and blankets. Our adventure continued…
“Leave your troubles outside. Life is disappointing? Forget it!” ~ ‘Cabaret’
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