Hello dear love, back from a literary reading at the local international arts colony, where I took the furthest corner seat way in the back - "like a writer" - sipped from a plastic cup of very good sauvignon blanc, and nibbled on delectable crackers and cheese, brie suffused with a hint of herb, dill perhaps, and pristine goat cheese. I arrived as the sun, so bright today, had embarked on its perceptible, precipitous arc from on high down to the western sky, and by the time the reading was over - by two excellent novelists, each reading from her latest - beyond the modernist glass walls it was night. I enjoyed sitting in the back, in the dark, listening to the voices read, and as well admiring my blouse, the first time I've worn it. I dressed up a bit for the occasion, washed & dried my hair, spritzed on Miss Dior, donned a black skirt and the top, a beautiful midnight blue & black paisley silky knit print scattered all over with, of all things, shimmering sparkly sequins that flicker & glitter in a lovely, enticing way. In the low light of the darkened room, I felt as I looked down at my chest that I was looking at a microcosm of the heavens way up above, all swirling blue constellations out there somewhere, etched with gold, stars lit up all across the endlessly vast deep firmament. A nice top for evening, I fantasize about wearing it perhaps at Christmas, at a festive soiree (me and you both there, I hope - that's part of my fantasy, you seeing me in this top). But I didn't feel overdressed in it, at this informal event, most people in country casuals, corduroys, cottons, jeans. I had on a black cashmere cardigan sweater too, so the glimmering top just peeked through, flash of exciting pattern & color - my Superwoman leotard peeking through from beneath my unimpeachably prim exterior. E. D. wore white, but I greatly enjoyed wearing the symbolically glittering stars, nightscape of my mind, that mostly only I could see.

And still the perfume lingers on my wrist, and the stars glitter even now as I look down at the expanded universe of my chest!

How are you sweetheart? I dreamed about you last night, odd dream, we managed to make love, as unlikely as it was... What a gift, a dream such as that, even the briefest snatches - but there we were, in each other's arms. And in the darkness we fall into each other’s arms, we’re naked, we kiss and immediately begin to make love... He feels marvelous, his skin soft and smooth, shoulders strong and round, and we fit together easily, beautifully, even though it’s our first time.

And darling, such was my day, a swirl like that, all sorts of wonderful sensations & moments. I finished the pear frangipane tart and baked it, and used only half of the six-tablespoons-of-butter-laden almond cream - reserving the rest for another tart I'll bake up soon, and thereby, for this one, saving a number of calories. The tart's delicious...

This post could stand tweaking, and I would love to linger here with you longer, but I should call it a night & eat a proper dinner (the thrilling conclusion of lasagna, part III) since I have another workshop in a romantic landscape setting tomorrow morning and I'd like to be fresh & rested for that, of course.

I imagine in my wildest dreams you & me somehow managing to steal a kiss in the dimly lit hallway, distant din of everyone else madly chattering & carrying on & bellowing & clinking glasses & laughing in the other rooms... somehow we just encounter each other in passing --- and because it's a dream, it's perfectly safe, & appropriate - though, still, within even dream-rules, it's risky, we mustn't be noticed, or caught. In the penumbral shadows of the crepuscular hallway we happen to run into each other, I've been fishing in my bag, which I had tucked there on the side, away from the crowds, and there you are. We're by ourselves and my invisible dark top glistens & glints like fireflies at night, and we stand for a moment in the hallway, together, and you kiss me and reach your hand beneath, as if for the briefest moment to fathom the furthest reaches of the impenetrable universe.

All my love, darling.