Last night the power went out all over town and across the northwest, thanks to Storm Isha. After shutting the bar, the mother-in-law went to bed early. In the bluish glow of emergency lights in a pub down the street, the husband and I had a few drinks, chatting with D., a butcher, about his Maltese pups. Afterward we settled down on pillows in front of the fire, surrounded by lit candles, some scented, and read books while the wind rattled our nest. The dog snuggled in between us. A perfect night: man and woman, yin and yang, seamed by wee black canine, candle-lit and book-bound.





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