Author Archives: Alan Ilagan

Outside, the rain grew heavier as the afternoon turned to evening, while inside the light was warm, the company was true, and the pasta dinner was on the way. We started with some prosciutto and olives and fennel biscuits. The older we get, the more we seem to appreciate simply being at home. The delights of the city – at least what delights us these days – are rarely found to be accessible late at night, and our bar-hopping shenanigans and clubbing chaos are long behind us. Gratefully, we leaned into the afternoon with some tea, embracing the coziness of these last weeks of winter. 

I made a very simple, light pasta dinner with artichoke hearts and broccoli and freshly-grated parmesan cheese. A bit of butter and cream, along with a small diced onion, added the only flavor we needed, and it was done in about 20 minutes – also ideal for anyone watching their meat intake in this season of Lent. (On Fridays we do fish!)

As the evening marked the anniversary of Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’ album release, I told Kira we should wind down for the night with a listening session of the whole album. Lowering the lights and operating with only a few lit candles, we settled into the same room in which I first listened to that album way back in 1998. 

It was as magical and mystical as I remember it being all those years ago, and hearing it with a friend made it mean a little more. By the time ‘Mer Girl’ wrapped up the night, the rainy cloak of something approaching healing and solace had wrapped itself around us. 

When next we meet, may the fountain be running, the windows wide open, and the leaves on the trees… 

This will mark the last time Kira and I rendezvous in Boston until summer, as our schedules don’t quite seem to allow for a spring visit. Putting that depressing thought from our minds, we made the most of our time together on a recent weekend in our favored city, trudging through the benign days of a waning winter. Arriving on Friday, I didn’t have a meal plan in effect, and was largely planning on winging it with some pasta and artichoke hearts I’d brought. Upon setting out to procure a few more items, we decided to simply grab a Thai dinner at a nearby restaurant rather than attempt a dinner-making scene at the end of a wearing work week. 

Walking around Boston often means passing by sites and spaces that hold special significance, such as this little section near a park where Alissa’s daughter Sophia once played as a child. The ghosts of youth – mine and theirs – haunt quietly and for the most part kindly these days. They no longer hold the same sad sway they once did, and I no longer consciously work to avoid them, instead allowing the feelings to arrive like waves, knowing they will subside. 

The day’s light is still growing longer, but dusk still descends sooner than welcome, so we hurried back to the condo and a few minutes of a movie before falling asleep. 

The next day Kira treated me to lunch at the newly-opened Sugar Factory in Faneuil Hall. We don’t frequent that tourist-heavy place much, and walking past the many empty storefronts of retail space revealed that we weren’t the only ones. I wanted to give the Sugar Factory a whirl to see if it was something I could stomach with the twins, as they would probably enjoy it. Sweet excess trappings aside, the lunch we had was decent enough, and we didn’t even have room for dessert after the bodacious burger and mile-high club. 

Rain was starting just as the afternoon began to ripen, and we didn’t quite make it home in time to beat it, but a hat for Kira and hood for me mean we stayed relatively dry where it mattered. We walked through the Fairmont Hotel to see their flowers, as the drab and dull winter day demanded some floral cheer… but more on that later. 

A quick and relatively quiet weekend adventure in Boston is previewed here, as Kira and I spent our last weekend in town together until probably summer, thanks to booked schedules and the business of work and life that seems to always be in the way. Our Boston weekends together have provided a bit of a respite for winter doldrums and the general malaise of growing older, and I will miss them in the coming weeks, but we have spring duties to perform, and many happy memories of previous Boston getaways, such as listed below… 

Kira and I first met in Boston during our stint at John Hancock way back in 1998. We hit it off, being of entirely different dispositions and sensing that the other might help enrich our lives, and hung out until I left for Chicago and she moved to Florida, in both cases for men who would not end up staying with us forever. Ten long years passed until we reunited in Boston, and since then we’ve been meeting up and making the most of the city.

Our first documented holiday stroll took place in 2012, but I believe the first actual stroll was the year before. Either way, it was a while ago, and a happy tradition that has somehow continued despite a few hiccups. 

When times were tough and we couldn’t do it in person, we did it virtually. 

Some of our times together were literally bloody.

And sometimes we made magic in the city, seeking out adventures in the night, following witches and warlocks, and finding our own mischief to manage.

Holiday strolls form some of our happiest recollections, as seen in our most recent one which incorporated a special guest star as well. 

As it looks like we won’t be back together until summer, I will look back at this summer jaunt from a while ago, and set our sights on this coming summer – always a fun stance.

Maybe we will rendezvous in Albany again this summer…