Out of Season

Going by the paltry state of the fish stand she presides over – lots of ice, few fruits de mer - I know there’s only a slim chance of getting what I came for. But the day I stop trying is the day I stop trying, which isn’t this one.

“Excuse me, I just have a question. Do you already have mussels by any chance?”

She pauses before she answers, and the look on her face tells me I would’ve been better off asking her what her hairdresser does for a living.

Summer of Ten

When you’re a kid summers seem to last forever. For a glorious span of six or seven weeks life is turned upside down: school’s out, so are you, and the world outside invites you to adventure. As you get older the summers get shorter and that sense of adventure without end dissipates into a nice holiday and a handful of nice dinners on a lovely terrace at best.