Living in the city is not always a ball game. Sometime it does get tough and lonely. That’s where friends come in. Love never dies, if it is love in the first place. Wishing good night was never so special. These and more. Join me…

It’s not easy being a single mom. Ask Donna. It’s certainly not easier if they are too young to walk! Natalie, Steve’s special friend, has her task cut out. Natalie’s a working woman who has flexible shifts. So she has to leave her twins in the care of their grandmom at times. Natalie was having a real difficulty doing everything entirely on her own. Groceries, gas, guests took up her time in plenty and Natalie is left gasping at the end of the day. Steve has been more than helpful to her in these tough times.

Though you can hardly depend on Steve to remember to fill up gas or pick up groceries, I hear he has been making a commendable effort! Megan told me that he had a list of items stuffed up in his wallet when he met Megan at the grocery store. Steve wanted to avoid the topic by saying that the items were for his need. “Geeks can be so silly at the basic level!” Megan giggled to me, “I could see packets of baby food in his trolley!” When Megan pointed those out, someone was really red-faced. I hear Natalie can’t thank him enough for everything. So long, so good!

I have always thought that I knew more than a little about love. I guess we all think so at some point of time. But then we come across someone who flounders every rule that you conjured in your mind and bends and mutates all your ideas about love and romance. I had a similar experience recently. I was on my way to work when I chanced upon Jeffrey. Remember him? Yes, I’m talking about Kate’s ex-boyfriend. We had lost touch because he changed his number and I lost his new one. When I met him, I asked him for it. He pulled out his wallet to give me a card.

In the process, he dropped the wallet. It fell open and I saw a picture of him and Kate against some waterfall. It could be a theme park. He noticed my glance. He picked up the wallet and gave me a sad smile, “Some things never change, Bob. They don’t get substituted. They never lose their importance.” He handed me his card and walked off. My gaze followed him till he turned the corner. I felt humbled. Here was a man in love. Silent. Resilient. But very much in love. Wonder what Kate would say about it if she knew.

Liz sounded very excited on the phone. She called me early and wished good morning in a sing-song voice. I knew something good has cropped up in her mind. I was not far from the truth. Liz told me excitedly, “You know Bob, I have been planning to arrange a small get together at our place for some time now! It will be really nice if you come down to our place this weekend!” I was very excited at the idea. I was worrying about time hanging heavy on my hands too.

That has been a problem with me recently. I have been missing my family back home. Living in New York is great and all that, but sometimes you do want to be with your folks back home. Kate visits her family in Iowa more often than not. Kate says that these trips help recharge batteries and prepares her to stick it out here. Against this, Liz’s idea of a family get together seems just what the doctor ordered. I’m really looking forward to it. Nothing like family, folks!

There’s something really cute going on between Adrian and Cathy. Yeah, I can see your round eyes at the word ‘cute’, but when you know what it is, I’m sure you guys would agree that the word is appropriate here. Cathy’s room partner is very prone to wake up easily. So Cathy can’t talk late into the night. So Cathy thought of a way to be together till they crash in. They write text messages to each other, late into the night. Sometimes this message exchange stretch till the wee hours of the morning.

I was unaware of it till very recently. When I crash in, I generally turn in very fast. So I didn’t really notice Adrian texting away happily. When I did, he was a little embarrassed to tell me all about it. He took it for granted that I would find it hopelessly, maybe even foolishly romantic. He explained that these nocturnal messages meant a lot to him. “These make me feel that we are always connected!” he told me with a proud twinkle in his eyes. Though I didn’t tell him, I’m telling you guys, I really don’t find it foolish or hopeless. I’m all for every way that suits you to express your love. How ingenuous you can be here is what makes or breaks a romantic!

As a Zen quote, here’s a piece of advice from Rose F. Kennedy: “Make sure you never, never argue at night. You just lose a good night’s slumber, and you can’t settle anything until morning anyway.” Smart, eh?