After our dock talk we returned to the fireside for warmth and light and more moments in friendship. Somehow, it’s easier to talk when there’s an atmosphere of crackling firelight and night wind. Not that any of us needed much coaxing into talking – when the years between us have grown this long, when the shared history extends decades, there is always enough to talk about – and too often the best talk is not about anything at all.
Behind us the moon danced with the pine and oak trees, flirting with the river as it wound its way back to the sea. Even with the fire and the moon, the darkness here was gorgeously deep, but friendship held its own illumination, carrying its own torches as the night did its damnedest to envelop us in its beautiful blackness.
It will never not amaze me that the world tells us all to go to sleep when we should, and then turns off its light without question or complaint.
SEE ALSO:
Part 1: Driving South with Suzie
Part 2: A Loveliness By the River
Part 3: November Sweeps in Virginia
Part 4: Shuck Off, Mutha-Shuckers!
Part 5: A Solitary Sunset Elicits Happy Tears
Part 6: Magic Moons & Shooting Stars
