and then, there were two...

Michelle is visiting me right now for five days.

She arrived yesterday afternoon, midway through a work trip to Swaziland, SA, and Tanzania. We sat on the couch all evening, talking and looking at pictures of her family's Caribbean cruise, weddings, and youth trips to South Dakota, and I leaned my head on her shoulder the entire time. She talked and we laughed hysterically at moments. I teared up a few times. She played the Zulu gospel music she'd bought in Joburg. I wriggled my arm around hers, head still against her shoulder, and just breathed in her presence. The presence of an old, comfortable, beautiful friend.

Then we went to sleep and shared my double bed. She was kind enough to understand.

Today we ate a picnic lunch on the fishermen's beach called Praia Nova. It was full of carved wooden boats with homemade sails, men fixing and drying out their immense green nets, and women selling prawns. It was salty air, dirty ocean, liquid blue sky, festive African music, ships large and small, cheese and tomato sandwiches, Mozambicans busy with their work, us on a blanket, and one fantastically cold Coca-Cola. Which is to say: wonderful in every way.

Tomorrow we're going to go biking. It's a holiday - Beira Day, the city's centennial - and there will be much merry-making in town (legions of drunken folks riding the bus). So we're heading for Savane, which will be a two-person adventure this time.

I am happy.