Autobiographical sketches 81 - honeymoon in Turkey

Pop the legs out like this

The French student and boyfriend aren't here yet. Mitch and Susie listen to Pete serenade us over the internet. He's sitting in a bathroom in Liverpool. He's distorted digitally, at his end. We sit round the table. A huge turkey. Debs has used a stick of butter and red wine. Shannon carves, cuts it down the middle. Pops the wings out. There's roasted veg, basmati rice, and salad. I'm on a diet, not a weight loss one, I can't eat the basmati. We drink red wine out of large thick dollar store glasses. Prints, watercolours, Ken's photographs of Greece. Zorro miaows. She climbs on the table. We can't feed her enough, she gets poor nutrition from the food since the cancer. As she gobbles, she stays alive. Rachel arrives, in cute dungarees and T-shirt, bubbles. Electro-pop Lyons, says Patrick is a cool teacher. 'Oh little sweetie'. She cuddles Zorro. She feeds Zorro bits of chicken. Amos arrives with his ridgeback, a beautiful bronze colour. We talk, Deborah disappears. When everyone leaves, we find her. She has fallen asleep on the couch.

Fantastic cook

Debs is a fantastic cook. While I was swanning around the museums Debs busied herself preparing a very fine turkey, roast veg, salad and basmati rice. She laid on the most deliciious spread.

Our guests straggled in the New York night and were all so fantastic. Mitch Friedman and his lovely girlfriend Suzi who is a designer, Rachel and her boyfriend Simone (I think) who perform in an electro-pop outfit. And Shannon, who is a wonderful poet. I was delighted that she gave me a copy of her first chapbook, signed! It's really, really beautiful.

Debs's old friend Amos and his beautiful ridgeback Tripoli also came. Amos is so nice and kind. I really like him and his lovely shiny elegant dog.

Another New York day

We've had no water last night, as the water workers are doing some work on the water. Debs thinks everyone else is probably using the water because that's the New Yorker way. Thank goodness it's nearly day and we will have water again in half an hour.

I'm thinking about going to a museum this morning. Either Brooklyn Museum or the Guggenheim. We're not going to do the painting today, because we have dinner guests this evening. Debs is doing turkey and basmati rice. She's a great cook. More than great. Really, really impressed.