Living in a small town has its perks. Tonight I experienced one of them. My mom and I decided to grab a bite at Cockadoodle Pizza Café, the local pizza place. It’s one of those places where not only does everyone know your name, but everyone you know will be there. Sure enough as we approached the counter I saw my friend Betty and her husband Jody waiting for their order. “Are you dining here?” I asked, and though they weren’t planning on it they decided to join my mom and me for dinner.
It turns out that the two had just come from taking their dog, Paco, to the vet, which was quite the ordeal. We spent most of the meal exchanging dog stories – whose dog is the most hyper, the most ill behaved, the funniest sleeper. We swapped stories like pros and soon found us moving on to other topics – the trip they’re planning to Hawaii, their favorite places to visit. Jody told us about seeing an eagle sweep down upon a lake in the Grand Tetons. I told them about the time we arrived at a camp ground in the dark and stayed up all night because we were placed near some crazy wild beast that cawed and howled till dawn. It turned out in the light of day to just be an upset burro, and we all shared a good laugh.
We stayed longer than we would have if we were just grabbing a quick bite, but it was time well spent. When we went back out to meet the sub-zero temperatures, we found our hearts warmed by good food and good company.