M meets me at the station. Our plan for the day is a simple one: hang out, shop around, and have a light lunch. We choose a little bakery shop in Newton that also serves sandwiches, salads and soups. Since I’ve decided in advance not to be careful this week, I opt for something I want to eat versus something I should eat... half a chicken salad wrap and a small cup of tomato basil soup. As I’m carrying my tray over to our table, I bump into Alan. I last saw him two summers ago, when he stopped by my parent's house. The time I saw him before then was probably 45 years ago.
"Linda?" That's my name prior to college, so anyone that calls me that is someone I know from my hometown. Alan is the brother of my sister’s kindergarten boyfriend, so this is someone I never knew very well. It’s strange bumping into him in this little bakery in Newton Massachusetts. I ask him to join us. “I can only stay a minute; my son’s home sick and I’m just picking up some soup for him.” He sits down and we start to talk. “So how are you feeling,” he asks. How does he even know I’ve been sick? Before I have a chance to ask, he says, “Aren’t you wondering how I know you’ve been sick?” I read your blog.” I’m totally surprised. Then M, whom Alan has never met, announces, “I’m M!” Now he’s surprised.
It’s a little strange knowing how much Alan knows about M and me, and how little we know about him. But in the few minutes that Alan stays, we learn a lot. I’ll skip the details he shares with us, for he’s not the one writing a blog. But our quick lunch in a non-descript bakery quickly becomes a lot more nourishing.
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