Relaxation

I slept in again this morning and was reading X-Men: The Return in bed when I got a call from America's Best. My contacts were in. I got dressed and rode over to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center after breakfast. Getting down Kendall Boulevard was a pain. They're apparently working on gas and water lines, and half the road was torn to shreds. They were working on repaving when I was down there, but even though I was able to ride on the sidewalk, I had to dodge equipment and avoid where they were working when I crossed streets. It was a royal pain.

I did finally make it to America's Best and picked up my contacts. I browsed in FYE, Fashion Bug, and Avenue after that, but I didn't buy anything. Trying to avoid the mess on Kendall, I went past Wal-Mart and onto Nicholson, then rode to Market Street.

It was still sunny today, but the weather had gone from perfect to hot and humid. I needed a drink badly. I stopped at the Tree House Cafe for a very, very green Creme De Menthe-flavored Italian Soda. It was around quarter of 1 by then, and the place was hopping. The Tree House Cafe is also a place where mothers and their children can meet and network, and they were certainly doing that this afternoon. Children ran to their mothers, laughing and begging for treats. They listened to a woman play guitar on the small stage, then went onstage themselves to try their hand at it.

I went across the street to the Abbie Road used CD store after I finished my soda. I caught up with my old friend Bob and checked out his selection. I ended up with Count Basie, the soundtrack for the first Charlie's Angels movie (which I saw in college and liked), the first Christmas With the Chipmunks album, and a CD replacement for my old John Denver and the Muppets: Christmas Together cassette. Bob seemed to be decent, other than he was sweating to death (he closed his door after I came in). He'd just transferred to a smaller Acme in Maple Shade, where he works night crew to make a few extra dollars.

Rode into Oaklyn over the railroad bridge after I left Abbie Road. I made a quick stop at the Oaklyn Library to see if they had something (they didn't and were closing soon anyway), so I rode home. I had a fast lunch of Garden State Turkey Bean Soup, then changed into a bathing suit and walked over to Dad and Uncle Ken's for a swim.

I'm so glad I did. I haven't done nearly enough swimming this summer. The water was warm but not hot at about a little over 80 degrees. I had the pool to myself. Dolores was on the porch, talking on the phone when I came in. Dad was taking a shower. Jessa was at work. Rose came around briefly, looking for her cell phone. Apparently, she'd been around last night and now couldn't find it. She probably lost it somewhere in her apartment. She always was something of a slob.

I was in the pool for about an hour. I read X-Men: The Return for another hour after that, lounging in the shade by the small plastic table next to the pool's steps. Said 'hi' to Uncle Ken, Guy, and Dolores on the porch, then went inside to see Daddy. I was startled to see my late stepmother Kaye on the screen, and a very young Jessa who couldn't have been more than six or seven. They were with some other unfamiliar people and young children in their old house in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. (Dad was apparently trying to hide in the background.) Dad said it was a party they had for New Year's Eve 1997, and indeed, the person in the background kept turning the camera to a small digital clock that read the time. (Poor little Jessa barely made it. She couldn't even muster the energy to get up and blow her party horn when the ball dropped in Times Square.) Dad said that was Kaye's last New Year's. She died in December 1998 of cancer.

Spent the rest of the evening at home, making steak, mashed sweet potatoes, salad, and eggplant Parmesan for dinner. Somewhere around 7, I heard a rumble of thunder. It had been on-and-off cloudy all day, but the clouds had increased considerably since I got in. The first raindrops were just beginning fall as I darted out to my porch, grabbed my still-damp beach towel, and ducked back in to eat dinner and watch more Wonder Woman.