Scrabble

Yesterday, I did the unthinkable: I left the city. Since so much of my life--job, home, and pretty much everything else--is basically within a 1 mile, two zip code radius, it's always a little strange whenever I venture past. Especially, as with yesterday, for no real logical reason. We weren't meeting anyone, or going on any pressing errand (although our travels did end up at Target, as invariably do all our infrequent trips outside the district's environs). Instead, in the sunny but cool October day--the kind that everyone dreams about when they think of autumn--we packed up the Honda Civic with a few books and magazines and a scrabble board, and drove off to a quaint cafe in Alexandria. We hadn't realized this, but it there was a big Halloween fair (I know, it makes sense) so at first the shop was completely packed with children in various shades of shimmer. We found a seat in the back, watching but removed from the crowds, and brought out the board--the deluxe version that my mother had given me a few birthdays back. I sipped my apple cider and picked my tiles, trying to land my words on the double letter and triple words. I won (although I did have the Z and Q, and both blanks, which helped me), and when we packed up our stuff for the drive back, I realized how nice it was to get past the 1 mile radius. Even if it was only 5 or 6 more, it felt nice.