The First Day of the Book Tour

The book tour started in Halifax. I flew there on the front seat of the plane. Seat 1A. I had cranberry juice, bottled water, chewing gum, Mentos, an orange, a banana, and a book called The Sunday Philosophy Club. The flight was only an hour or so and I felt embarrassed by my supplies. I was overloaded. I had to draw on my supplies constantly, to make them worthwhile. The man beside me was irritated, or maybe I imagined that.
The flight attendant wanted everything up in the overhead lockers, everything, even my handbag, and my plastic bag of supplies, for take-off. He offered to get them back down once we were in the air, and you could tell he didn’t think I’d want them back, but I did.
I was keen to see Halifax through the taxi windows. In particular, I wanted to find the sea. There were colourful seaside houses to keep me content.
I said, “How do I get to the water?” and the woman behind the reception desk gave me a map. She drew a line to the sea.
But around the corner there was Lisa Moore in the middle of the footpath, standing still, holding out her arms, a lovely smile.
She was on her way to the movies, but I made her have coffee with me.