Sunday Morning 9am
While out for dinner with the newly crowned Miss 18 and the rest of the family and in-laws last night, I suggested that I might take her to London today – to acquire the pair of Doc Marten boots she's had her eye on forever. It just so happens one of their factory stores is on Neal street – between Covent Garden, and Shaftesbury Avenue – a road we have walked many times because it leads to the comic book store.
We have made something of a tradition – the pair of us – from our visits to the comic book store in London. We get on the morning train, arrive at Paddington an hour later, grab a coffee from one of the many sellers in the station, and then head below ground – hurtling through the Underground to Covent Garden. We emerge into the late morning and wander along Neal Street – stopping at Itsu for a very Japanese late breakfast, and then on to 'Forbidden Planet' on Shaftesbury Avenue.
While Miss 18 vanishes into the shelves of Manga books, I typically find myself looking at the independents – the likes of Bryan Lee O'Malley (of Scott Pilgrim fame), and Noelle Stevenson (if you've not seen Lumberjanes, you have missed out). I've had my eye on a number of books by Kazu Kibuishi for years, after discovering his web comic 'Copper' years ago. The artwork in the 'Amulet' books is stunning.
So yes – the plan was to go to London today. I rolled out of bed – on a Sunday – at 7am, jumped in the shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and then woke her up. I then put some clothes in the washing machine, some more in the tumble dryer, and hung some more up around the house – and tried to wake her up again. Then a coffee, and another attempt to wake her up.
It's now 9am. She appeared at my side a few moments ago, squinted out at the rain falling outside while rubbing sleep from her eyes.
'Do you want to go to London or not? If you do, you need to have a shower right now – you have half an hour before we would need to leave for the train'
She shook her head slowly.
I don't really mind either way, and I'm kind of glad I got up when I did, because I hate wasting the weekend. I just wish she would keep to her word a little more often. I was kind of looking forward to spending the day with her. It IS raining outside though, and its forecast to get worse throughout the day. Maybe a quite day spent at home with a succession of cups of tea, and a good book or two might be just the thing we really needed.
And yes, I know the title is almost the same as the Simon and Garfunkel song. I've been humming the song while writing this post.