Marry Me to the Sky

It might as well have said, "Welcome back to Richmond, Karen!"

Instead it said, "Wednesday's forecast 83 degrees and sunny. Perfect day for a fall picnic. Lobster roll or oyster po'boy. You know how it works. Hurry! They go quickly."

I do know how it works and how easy it is to miss out.

The source was Acacia and they were doing another of their brown bag lunches, of which I am so fond.

Since I had a looming lunch date with a good friend, I called him up and told him that our lunch decision had been made for us.

Less than an hour after I placed our order, I got Acacia's final missive of the day: "SOLD OUT!"

Who didn't see that coming?

Friend was due to pick me up at noon, but it was only 11:50 when I heard "Karen! Karen!" being called from the street below.

Minutes later I was collecting our brown bag, on which was written my name and the instruction, "Enjoy!"

Will do.

We took our picnic to Paradise Park and spread out a blanket on a stone bench with the sun on our backs.

He'd brought garlicky kale and I'd brought red grapes to add to our lobster rolls with lemon mayo and herbs accompanied by potato salad.

The rolls had such a yeasty aroma that my friend began waxing poetic about the smell.

Sure the roll was good, but it was the chunks of lobster meat in lemon mayo that had me making embarrassing sounds.

As we feasted in the midday sun, he asked about my trip to Italy and I regaled him with stories of bold men, ugly Americans and endless walking.

He had several laugh-out-loud moments due to how well he knows me ("Doesn't he know just getting you to go was an accomplishment?") and how he likes to give me a hard time.

The nearly 80 degree weather suits me to a "T," but my friend was more pragmatic about it, noting, "Well, it won't be so great when Norfolk is under water."

True that.

Even so, before long he was saying how all he wanted to do was stretch his full belly out under the impossibly blue fall sky and take a nap in the sunshine.

I knew exactly what he meant.

It's just what the Italians would do after such a satisfying lunch interlude.

Enjoy food. Enjoy rest. Repeat endlessly.