Christmas Music And A Fire

This is a cold, rainy day with the prospect of some snow. We made our usual visit to Panera and Kate seemed to be having a good day. While we were at lunch, I checked something on my phone. Kate asked what I was doing. I told her. Then she said, “Why don’t I have one.” I hesitated a moment trying to think of just the right thing to say. I said, “You used to have one. We may have an old one at the house.” She gave me a disgusted look and said something about having to depend on me to drive her where she wanted to go. I realized she was talking about a car and not a phone. Then she said something that indicated she didn’t want to talk about it any further. She looked very depressed.

She was very quiet for the balance of the meal. I began to think of the afternoon and her not being able to work outside. That led me to check the Live in HD at The Met performance. We have frequently attended those in the past but have not gone this season. I saw that Hansel and Gretel was scheduled. I asked if she wanted to try it. She said she did. We continued with our meal. At one point she asked, “What am I going to do this afternoon?” I reminded her about the opera, and she accepted that.

The theater that usually has the operas was diagonally across the street from the restaurant. We walked over after lunch to discover that they were not showing the one today. I hope that doesn’t mean they have discontinued them. That left us with another option, to go home and sit by the fire. Both of us thought that sounded like a good idea.

On the way home I played a recording of Fiddler on the Roof. When Kate heard “If I Were a Rich Man,” she chuckled. That completely changed her mood. She continued to chuckle throughout the song. Once we were home, I got the fire going and turned on some Christmas music. She had her iPad in her lap, but she was so taken by the music and the fire that she put it down. At one point, I looked over at her and saw that she had her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She was happy. I must admit that brought a tear to my eyes. I love seeing her enjoy herself.

After a while, she got up and left the room. She’s been gone about 45 minutes. I walked back to the bedroom. She was in bed with the cover over her.