Sunday, July 20, 2014

A Key West Night

Stumbling into our room, thunder booms in the distance and just as we collapse on the bed we hear a loud POP and everything is dark and silent.

Meaning the air conditioner stops and it's 91 degrees at midnight.

An emergency light blinks so I crawl out of bed and wander outside to the tiny deck we share with three older ladies on a "Girl's Weekend."

Key West is covered in blackness as the rain began to fall though I can make out the silhouettes of the Palm and Banyan Trees.

The weekend girls are still on their Pub Crawl.

The world is silent as I return to Sarah in the bed.

"Imagine the crowd at Irish Kevin's," I laugh, "hundreds of people plunged into darkness."

"Or trying to get down the steps from 'The Garden of Eden,'" she giggles.

Duval is crazy tonight, proving to be much too crowded for us ... besides we'd already enjoyed it earlier in the day, took naps, met up with friends and celebrated life.

The air conditioner roars to life and Sarah's asleep in a nanosecond.

Crawling out of bed, I wander outside again and Key West is covered in a blanket of starry lights and I hear "crazy crowds boogie to the sounds and the lights."

"Thank you," I say out loud before returning inside for the second time, slipping beside my wife.

Now Sarah sleeps late, still recovering from the race she ran cheered on by Bill, Joey and me, while I chat over coffee with the ladies on their "Girl's Weekend."

We return home tonight where decisions loom, work waits, school starts and fears are faced.

But we have today and one last visit with Joey and Bill, a walk around together holding hands ... perhaps a swim in the Gulf ... a last toast at Irish Kevin's.

Then it's to the hard stuff!

Well ... except for the secret plan we have with Johnny and Judy O for tomorrow night.

That comes first.

Then it's on to the hard stuff!