Last year celebratory plans were
cancelled with Nic’s death. We had planned almost a year in advance to spend a
few days in Porto, Portugal with his children and grandchildren to celebrate his birthday. Instead while Andrew hurried from Rio to Paris to be
with his sister as she grappled with the new reality of Nic's serious
condition, the day dawned with Raphael and me in this luxurious hotel suite
while his daughter became a widow at 37, and two-year-old Sloane, fatherless.
Porto was rainy and without charm
and I knew we'd never return but we did take long arduous walks through its steep
narrow cobbled streets.
A month later as a consolation, I
planned a neighborhood party. Preeti came and arranged the bouquets of flowers.
He was happily surprised when Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies arrived and set up
their band gear. And though the evening was a success, it probably didn't make up
for the fact that his children were absent.
This year with the Covid-19 cloud
hanging over our heads, we halfheartedly made birthday plans that scaled
downwards quickly as we got closer to the day. Maybe we'd camp for a few days
in Elephant Butte; maybe we'd take a day trip to Jemez Mountains; or have a
picnic in the park. In the end we stayed home and ate the Bittersweet Mocha Bundt
cake with a layer of raspberries marinated in Kahlua for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The day before, he had selected the recipe from
"The Heart of the Plate" by Mollie Katzen, and low and behold, we had
had all the ingredients on our shelves.
I scrummaged in our gift drawer and
found a couple items that would have to substitute for my lack of planning and
shopping ahead of time. I tissued and bagged them so he'd see it first thing in
the morning. The man bar of soap was not just another bar of soap. At $12 the
Los Poblanos soap according to its online description was a blend of
sage, cedarwood and vetiver essential oils to create a uniquely earthy scent
reminiscent of a day spent outdoors. Infused into a base of all-natural
ingredients including beeswax and avocado oil, it forms a bar of soap that is
as effective as it is enjoyable to use. And though the handcrafted
cloth mouse that sat atop the bar as if it were a block of cheese made him
smile, what had made the day was the awareness that we were well and
together.
Then my phone buzzed with a text
around 7 pm. "Come out. We want to wish Raphael a happy birthday,"
Outside on the street Todd was setting up to fire off a few rockets while
Monica and her daughter danced to the Beetles blaring on a portable speaker.
Other neighbors came out to the edges of their driveways and into the street in
pajamas -- the trending fashion of stay-home comfort, and joined the party now
in full swing. Maintaining proper social distancing, we hollered pleasantries
to each other and pranced about; Merna played the tambourine; one of the twins
tapped on a contrived instrument; and we all clapped wildly at each burst of
the firecrackers.
The joyful voices ringing out in
the thin desert air made me realize how much I had missed our close knit block
of neighbors. And so another day in the continuing cascade of restrictions
ended.
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