I was away for as long as I expected, but my time was spent differently than I anticipated. I dropped in on Mento and found Allen and Mento in the yard finishing up brake work so I helped them before I visited.
That evening in Fredericton, Mento told me he still had problems with the car, so I told him I’d come back by noon after I’d met with Jen. She was in town with her son for a few days so it was a good opportunity to see her. I had a late breakfast with her which involved some Canada day wandering around to find an open place, and then I drove to Mento’s where we tore apart the brake they’d assembled the day before and then re-bled the system. That seems to have fixed the problem.
When I was back in town when Mike and Carol took me out to dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant and then I walked downtown to see the fireworks. I watched people going back and forth while I waited for the explosions and thought about what it would be like if I’d just moved to Fredericton. I would know no one and be just as lost at sea as I was in the crowd. There were the usual teenage groups chattering excitedly and parents with children and groups of university students. One mother with her seven year old daughter caught my eye and I was reminded of my Working for Ray book.
This morning I hung out with Mike and Carol and then was on my way to visit with Miriam, Erin and Kim. We spent the day together and when Kim left for work we watched the Thai movie Present Perfect about the auntie who is left with her niece for a week. It is quite mushy and their interactions are poignant but not maudlin.
When Dennis came home we ate a meal and hung out before our walk to check on the wood piled in the back field.
I left for the bush as the sun was descending and when I arrived I chatted with Bashful and then helped him put in his bridge. I guess he’d been debating about whether to use it.
Now I am back in the cabin and the night is very still.
I sometimes think about how incomplete this record of my summer is. I almost never record what I am thinking and even with less frequency what I am feeling. I guess I fear this being found and used against me. For the same reason I rarely tell others what I feel. And now, with the collapse of some relationships recently, I say even less. My friend tells me she is much more honest on Twitter and Instagram. For now, at least, I have no venue.
