Today was another day that was fairly unexciting although we did end it by meeting some of our closest friends in Fairfield. It’s funny how, as the years go by, you develop or create little gangs of friends that represent different aspects of your background, history and life. Well, these friends are first-generation immigrants from India who made their home in Fairfield County and with whom we connected, decades ago, so that our friendship has stood the test of time.
But to begin at the begin at the beginning: I drove alone to Trumbull to have my ultra-sound done and to get the opinion of my radiologist, Dr. Neil Specht, who gave me a clean bill of health (Thank you, Lord). That done, I picked Llew up from our lodgings at Sturbridge Lane. He had spent quite a bit of time, during my absence, doing his packing as we will be leaving the USA in two days and flying off to Canada with just a small backpack each. The bulk of our baggage will be left behind in the garage of our friends here in Sturbridge Lane. There is much organizing to do.
Lunch was going to be just the two of us and since we are making sure we have at least one meal in each of our favorite paces, we decided to eat at ‘Shanghai Gourmet’, a really modest Chinese eatery on the Southport-Westport border from where we have been ordering take-out food for years. This time, of course, we ate inside at the little table by the window. We both chose the Hot and Sour Soup that comes with the meal—but decided to simply take it home as it would be too much for us. For our main meal, I chose Shrimp in Hot Garlic Sauce, while Llew picked the Chicken in Mango Sauce—two of our favorite dishes. Both were served over brown rice and as we shared the dishes, we were able to enjoy both.
Lunch done, we returned to Sturbridge Lane for a short rest from packing and other worrying issues. When we surfaced, to face the evening, we realized that Brett had returned from work. As we had barely spent any time with him, it was great to chill on his deck while he fixed us drinks of our choice: a beer for him, red wine for Llew and a perfect margarita for me. With cheese and a few chips for nibbles, we had a very companionable evening while spending some quality time with Brett. His wife, Mary-Lauren, would return from her business trip tomorrow—an opportunity for us to spend some quality time with her.
It was time then for us to get ready for our dinner appointment—an evening out with our Indian friends. We had our showers, got dressed and drove to the Fairfield home of our friends, Dhiru and Kirti. It was Kirti who had initiated this evening’s gathering and I was very grateful to her for rallying the troops around to meet us. It was she too who suggested that we meet at a Bridgeport restaurant called ‘The King and I’ which was reputed for its excellent Thai food. Both Llew and I were delighted at the choice as we do really love the cuisine of Thailand.
As we were running a bit late, they were all set and ready for us and we left as soon as we arrived and parked our car in their driveway. Driving to the restaurant, provided us with the opportunity to catch up before the rest of the gang joined us. Kirti presented me with copies of two of her books (one of which has a blurb by me on the back jacket).
Within a short time, we arrived at The King and I, only to find that our friends had beaten us to it. It was great to meet Yvor and Angie and Delyse and Marcus. We had a wonderful reunion with all of them before we sat down to the serious business of studying the extensive menu and ordering. Finally, it was decided that we we’d get a selection of dishes and eat them family-style. A huge number of dishes were ordered for the table, each more delicious than the next. It was with very full tummies that we eventually ended our meal.
And on that happy note, our dinner and our day came to an end. Kirti and Dhiru drove us back to their home and from their driveway, we picked up our own car and drove ourselves back to Sturbridge Lane.
It had been another memorable day and we were grateful for the opportunity to spend it as fruitfully as we had done.
Until tomorrow, cheerio…
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