Speaking terms

A few weeks ago now I wrote up an entry here about how I lost touch with Shelly, even though we live in the same building. I took a gamble and printed it up and put it in the mail slot of her apartment, then followed up with an email a few days later. To my immense relief, she replied pretty quickly and held no grudge at all. She was ready to pick things up where we left off.

Later that week we met for dinner at a local watering hole and got caught up. She’s living with her fiancée, a man somewhat younger than her but suited to her in outlook. During the interruption in our communication, she lost both her cherished cat and, even more terrible, her mother. I felt especially badly for being first too stubborn and then too scared to try to re-open the channels. But at least I finally did wade in and the water is fine.

I’ve seen her for lunch a couple of times since then and once on a walk with her new dog, a lab-poodle mix who looks a lot to me like a little spaniel; beautiful, lively little thing that makes me want a dog all over again. It’s great being back in touch, and even though the convenience of meeting in the lobby will go away again, I’m only going to be about a ten minute drive away, so it should amount to much the same thing. I’m bound to meet her fiancée sooner or later so I hope we hit it off well enough that my being around once in a while won’t be too awkward. I hadn’t quite forgotten how pleasing it is to be around her and talk with her, but actually getting back into doing that really puts a fresh coat of paint on it.