Scene: It’s mid-morning, and we’re in this café in Romans. There’s a thick layer of snow piled on the roof of our truck and the temperature is cold enough to keep it from melting, but the sky is clear. After our coffee, we’ll wander purposefully through the day until we arrive at the movie theatre in Valence for an afternoon showing of Les Miserables, which we’ve been waiting to see since September. It’ll be our first time going to the movies in Valence.

We leave the café, get in the truck. When we turn right into the first round-about, the pile of snow on the roof breaks and falls dramatically onto the windshield in two loads – rumble thud, thud! – making us laugh as we catch the startle reactions in each other’s faces. Callaghan clicks on the windshield wipers, and we watch the blades push and sweep away the clumps of snow. It hadn’t snowed in Romans, but now the round-about is dusted with the snow we brought down from the mountain. You’re welcome!

It was that kind of day, low-key and full of whimsical surprises. At the end of it, I realized that I’d accidentally put on Callaghan’s jeans; all day long, I couldn’t understand why they were so huge on me. Typical! I fail at getting dressed! Callaghan made me laugh. Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables made me cry.  (Her ability to evoke emotion with the depth of her performance gifts astonishes me. Now I want to see Rachel Getting Married again.)

We had dinner at home. Callaghan put a glass vase of fresh flowers on the counter and cooked dinner for me, and it was fabulous. I am lucky.