I sat listening to Haiku Pea in a NY Presbyterian waiting room when she came back. The staff told her they’d contact her when she could schedule her CT scan. Emblem would preauthorize in their own due time, of course. As we exited the outpatient building and crossed Washington Avenue, she shared her disappointment. While her specialist acknowledged that her symptoms had not gotten worse, he conceded that she hadn’t gotten better. When we reached the parking lot, she basked in the sun—and her own disappointment. Her irritating condition persisted with no end in sight.

We drove up Riverside Drive. Somehow, I managed to get on the Henry Hudson Parkway. I saw the exit for Fort Tryon Park/the Cloisters and pulled off. We parked just past the museum and walked along the pedestrian walkway, overlooking the Hudson river. Some flowers in the gardens remained in bloom. Many of the trees held onto their green. She mentioned reading an article that climate change may delay the foliage this year. We continued, past a woman stretching and twerking beside a park bench, another walking with her friend and smoking a joint, and a third pushing her baby cart to scenic lookouts of the river.

stone steps

the unseen gardens

in the Cloister

The trip to Newark’s Ironbound took longer than she thought. Nevertheless, we arrived at Sol Mar in time for lunch. I ordered the Chorizo appetizer just after we placed our entree orders. It arrived sizzling, with flames lapping up from the sauce it cooked in. I savored each bite with fresh Portuguese bread. A short while later, her mariscara and my filet mignon arrived. While we made our best attempt, we took plenty home in doggy bags. A walk up Ferry Street brought us to our usual bakery, where we ate Natas, and I sipped a small cappuccino. After returning to our car, we finished our sojourn with some shopping at Seabras Whole Food. Needless to say, we returned home prepared for a homemade Portuguese feast—sometime soon.

evening traffic

the blinding light of

the setting sun

for dVerse Poets’ Pub’s OLN #293 (pubtended by Jade Li).

The Pub is still open! Come join us!