On my own

My husband is away visiting a close friend who's graduating from a Ph.D. program at long last. So for the first time in a long while (and the first time since we married), I have several days on my own. I've been away for two days at a conference in San Jose. This afternoon on the way back, I stopped and bought summer clothing at the Stanford outdoor shopping center Palo Alto. Turns out on Thursdays in summertime there is live jazz starting at 5 p.m. People bring low-backed folding chairs and picnics. Since I didn't have anyone at home expecting me (except possibly a hungry cat), I picked up a sandwich (my favorite kind; baguette with a little meat, a little cheese, a swipe of butter and no condiments) and an iced tea and sat by a fountain and listened and ate an early supper. The weather was balmy. The band was skilled. Small children chased each other around and older people smiled at the good fortune to be where they were at that particular moment, and they tapped their feet in time to the music. After a while I collected my bags, finished my drive home, brought in the mail, fed the creatures and let the feathered ones out to flap their wings a little. Now I'm catching up on my reading and I'm sipping a little dessert wine. The birds have their heads tucked back under their wings. Outside the city makes its downtown noises. Here inside, the house is quiet.