When she nodded, her bangs vibrated. She had straight hair. I’d always wanted straight hair.
There was so much there on our plates that first meeting in the candle-lit restaurant, we could’ve talked about anything: psychology, the sirloin steaks, the Merlot, the garlic bread, the way spring appears full force overnight, all those blossoms opening, opening the age gap between them, the gap missing from her teeth, the gap I missed, the gap in me.
Amazing how many people ate deli sandwiches on Christmas Day. No tables available and the line by the door kept on growing. It was nice to sit and feel warm again, though my hands were cold. They were always cold.
Dad was telling me a story he’d never told before, about his and Mom’s first Christmas together, when they were living in Hamilton, i
