The Capt and I aren't sleeping all that well lately, with all that's going on in our lives, so it was well before sunrise when I took Chica out for her walk. I had just heard from Steve in Melaque that his dear Prof. Jiggs is gone, and his farewell post was a poetic eulogy that made me weep. As we trotted out into the early morning I appreciated more than ever the company of my little familiar. It's my favorite time of day, cool and peaceful, the air fresh and clean. Except for the toppled sign for the Captain's Club, you'd never know we'd had a hurricane a week ago.Perhaps because of all that rain, frogs are multiplying down by the marina. There's a huge pond next to the hotel, that I've worried would become a vast mosquito nursery, so I was glad to see the frogs. They're the size of my fingernail, but move so fast!
Yesterday our landlord came over, looking dapper in white Bermudas and a Panama hat. We did some recording with "Black Orpheus" and "Somos Novios," a tune gringos know from Perry Como days as "It's Impossible." The Spanish lyrics are so much more beautiful—it's the perfect anniversary song. He brought three coconuts from his yard, which were chopped into snack-size chunks by an expert machete man, and doused in hot sauce and lemon juice. I made a big pitcher of jamaica.
I was dreading having to tell him we were buying a home and moving away, but it turned out the Capt gave him the news, and Daniel responded with the grace and humor we've come to expect of him. It helps that our friends from "Synchrony" are eager to take our place here in the duplex.
"So now instead of being your tenants, we will just be your friends," I said as I gave him a goodnight hug. "Next time you come see us you should bring not only your guitar but your bathing suit!" Daniel has become a regular part of our lives over the past three years. Once a month we'd have long conversations about music, when we took our rent to his office. Sometimes he slipped away from his busy life to jam with us and he generously invited us to take part in reunions with his professional musician friends. "You have changed our lives," I told him.
The Capt is mixing and adding a bass track to the recordings, and then I'll upload them here. I'm hoping they're just the beginning of a series, and they'll get better along the way. Like our life.