i went to the coffee shop in my neighborhood this morning, early.
i saw a friend.
i told him his hair looked longer.
i kept looking at him, i mean i couldn't stop looking at him.
i said, finally, you look soft.
he said, i have cancer.
im halfway through chemo.
we kept looking at each other, as all the unsayable words recalibrated my reality.
when he could see that i had caught up he said that it is now a matter of how much time he has.
we hugged.
as i pushed open the door and stepped onto the sidewalk, i began to cry.
that embarrassing, primal crying, i couldn't get my mittens on.
there at the stop light, in a car, was another friend, who said hey, are you okay?
he pulled over, jumped out of his car and had me in a hug.
this is how it is my neighborhood.