rainy days and Mondays

...aren't bringing me down, but they're making me sleepy.

It's an uneventful day at the office; the boss has an all-day appointment, and we're left pretty much to ourselves. I'm enjoying the brief and temporary respite from the general chaos.

George called me last night, and I got rid of him. I felt admittedly badly for doing so, but I can't see it going anywhere serious (and neither could most other people), so I thought it would be easiest to cut it loose before we knew each other all that well.

Thank God for female friends. Meg called me in the middle of an awkward conversation I wasn't sure how to begin with George, so I told him I'd call him back; then she affirmed my decision and I went running over to Marianne's to sit on her porch to go through with it. In lieu of established family, it's good to have people who surround you with moral support, even if it's, "Hey, I have to break it off with this guy and for some bizarre reason didn't want to do it at home or on my porch; can I do it here?"; and then it's nice to have someone hovering by the screen periodically to check how you're getting on, and when you're finished, to demand a full report and come running out with an offer of wine.

Her porch has thus been christened The Break-Up Porch. Beware, unsuspecting young lovers who might think to linger on its comfortable cushioned lobster crate or deck chairs; tarry for long, and your love is doooomed!

And working in a family office is funny. There are little clouds of spats and temper that gust over from time to time, as well as lots of joviality and comfort. I find myself irresistably drawn in. Their son Rob, who is shadowing his dad for the rest of the month, is something like an ornery older brother -- lots of mutual joshing, crankiness, impertinence, ordering around, and flicking off. (Haha, he started it!) So I'm enjoying myself, and they all take an active interest in my well-being. Most times I don't quite dare to believe it.

Anyway, it's cold and rainy out, and I'm put in mind of soup and of naps, and also of fall. Brief as autumn is in Indiana, I'm looking forward to crisp gusty nights smelling of dead leaves and smoke, and thin blue afternoons of wandering around in jackets with pockets full of apples.

I love fall.