For such a crappy beginning this week has absolutely flip flopped. I got home at 8:30 Thursday morning. I left at 9:00 Wednesday night. It was awkward at first, talking to all her old friends, trying to make them my new friends. Then it was awkward because she and someone I had never met were entwined like old tree roots. I was paralyzed, stuck, lost in a sudden realization that I couldn't fathom. and I slowly drifted away. Then it wasn't awkward at all. It was just me and someone I had never met alone in a dark basement. And while this was a very opportune moment to be doing something more, all I did was talk, and smile, and laugh. Its been a long time since I could do that. Five hours later I called to say I'd fallen asleep (cough) and drove home through the icy air. Last night she and I decided to take things as they come. She told me she didn't want to be just friends anymore, and come what may, its nice to hear. I borrowed Junior, my parents white pickup truck, and went to visit her and her sister. It was just as awkward, as though it muted the airwaves and broke the excitement. We stayed busy in amiable card tricks and games, and ate to excuse our silence. And then she was tired, and somehow things were better. Her hair is ridiculously fine and tangles easily, but still worth playing in. She and I were warm and tired. And in the end "It's just a puppet show, what does it matter," so I enjoyed every minute. She wanted to watch the Muppets anyway.