10:47 PM; Nena’s guest room
I’ve been meaning to catch up on writing, but it’s been absolutely crazy with all the moving and Alyssa and now travel—I’m really glad I’m here. I drove a rental car from the airport—breathed the singular Florida scent—and Tita was standing in the garage when I arrived—very reminiscent of Abuela. Nena and Tita warmed up some food and we chatted. There was a deafening silence after I told a story about Abuela (Futurista, moving glass birds from apartment to apartment), but mostly it was small talk. Nena showed me the cancer sores on her belly. Tita moved the lamp from her room to mine so that I could read and gave me extra blankets. I feel Abuela strongly. Tomorrow we’ll eat picadillo and platanos and frijoles negros.
I took Alyssa to the Botanic Gardens on the 4th and it was super nice. We made us “official”—I told her I was dumb for being hung up on Molly and that I was “in it” with her. It feels good, even though we’re both scared, which Chris reminded me was normal.
Jeff helped me set up my room at Brian’s and I’ll be dogsitting Dolphi once I get back. Then it’ll be a very intense apartment hunt, which must conclude before I head off to Swarm.
So many small things running through my head as I wonder what to write… The 4th was nicer than I thought it would be, not only because I sorted things out with Alyssa, but also because we ended up meeting Sarah and Ezekiel at Loyola Beach with Jeff in tow and we walked the boardwalk as fireworks went off all around us—it was pretty magical. Much cooler than being on a rooftop. Meanwhile Dad was missing out on fireworks because apparently Carlos was in a “foul” mood and they left Margie’s early.
Not looking forward to going back to work next week. Tiffany and I only ended up playing two of our beach volleyball games together, and the second one was nothing like the first, regrettably. No flirty drinks or dips in the lake. The Nightside is one week away and I haven’t written me piece yet. There’s no internet here, but maybe that’ll help. Off to read. And then to soak in Abuela as much as I can.