Two for Tuesday: Spider Friends

Thinking about twosomes for a while now, I'm beginning to grasp how powerful it is to see ourselves in each other. It's a pull of recognition that leads us to pair up, to join in with another, to be together in this complex and too often atomized thing called life. It's an affirmation, and sometimes a relief.

But enough theory. As I teach my students, let's show and not tell.

My friend on the left, Ree, has a beloved Fiat Spider. It's a classic car with a license plate that reads 1981 Spider. It's vintage and glorious and has gone quite a distance with her. Anyway, the day she and I rendezvoused last week, it was sunny and 72 - perfect top down driving weather. She parked her car outside The View where we shopped for my new glasses. At one point, we spotted a very tall man walking around her car.

What was he doing? We watched him, casually, just curious. In one hand he held a helmet and in the other he held a phone he seemed to be using to videotape her car. It struck us as odd, but the car is a beauty, so we also kinda got it. Minutes went by and the man was still there. Finally, he popped into the  store. Anyone here own that Fiat? 

Ree responded, and whatdoyouknow but this fellow had a 1983 Fiat Spider, red, amazing, just like hers. They talked cars for a good five minutes. Discussed parts, gas mileage, and where the next rally for Fiat lovers was going to be held (Virginia in a week). Can you wait twenty minutes, he asked, I'm driving my scooter but can be back here with the car in twenty.

Ree and I grabbed a coffee and waited on the sidewalk. What's twenty minutes when you're in the middle of story with a best friend?

We were just about to give up waiting when what do we see rolling down the street but a brighter version of her little car with a man beaming behind the dash. He parked. The two owners walked around each others' cars, looking, sharing stories, comparing notes, sniffing and wagging.

It turns out his beloved convertible was missing one windshield wiper and a visor, and Ree knew just where he could find them.