The ride back is quiet. We are sated by food, and practically comatose. I think we are all also a little bit exhausted from talk, from drama, from things of intrigue and scandal. Jesús and I both have our phones again and we are quietly scrolling, each in his solitude. Aaron in the front seat, looks out the window, and exchanges with Carl scant comments about the food we just ate (excellent), the history of the town (quite old for BC). the weather and the landscape. There is nothing interesting on my Twitter feed which I rarely look at these days. Just some sad comments and frightening statistics about the pandemic. We have not been immunized yet. Three birthdays on Facebook. And a text from my friend Ben, who worries about me a lot. He just sent me yet another coloured smiley face, this one is bright orange. I like it. He always sends me little texts and nice images. I get so lonely, and I like this but I'm still too shy to tell him. To my surprise, I have lost interest in my phone and without thinking I have shoved it back in my pocket. Jesús is also off his phone now. His head is leaning forward and he appears to be sleeping.
"What's on for this afternoon?" I ask anyone.
"We should be back in time for two o'clock coffee chat", Carl says. "I was thinking, Jesús, that maybe we could have a look at Cosme's diary."
"He's snoozing", I say. Next to me, the peacock feather on his neck seems to sway gently to the rhythm of his breathing Again I have to suppress a desire to reach across and touch it with my fingertip...
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