Catching up

It's been months since I spoke to Henry, my dear friend in Key West. He called Tuesday night and we talked for more than hour -- most of tonight's Cubs-Royals game. (The Cubs won.)

He let me know what's new on his end: he's getting along better with his mom (yeah!) and his husband Reg is considering going back to tending bar, at least part time. The money coming in from Reg's bookkeeping assignments has been reliable, but not as good.

Henry is finishing a book of short stories with a local author he's terribly impressed with. This is an exciting development and I'm happy for him. It's just that I've read that author's work -- Henry gave me a copy of his new partner's most popular novel back on 2014 -- and I really didn't like it much. The man writes beautifully, but I didn't care for the voice of the narrator. I hope Henry doesn't remember my critique. Just because I'm not crazy about his collaborator doesn't mean I'm not excited about the collaboration.

He's very handy and he's going to advise me as I collect estimates from contractors for renovating my bathroom. That makes me happy. I'm not confident spending money on these things because I don't have any experience. It's good to know I count on him.

And I like chatting and catching up in real time. Texts are inadequate, and he's not much into email. I enjoy these long calls.