summer nights

I took a walk tonight along the seawall and it felt like summer. It was warm enough to be out without a jacket. The water was calm and the lights of the city streamed out from the shore in long, lazy, neon ribbons. There were enough people out that it didn't feel like a secret that summer's here and the place to be at night is the waterfront, but it wasn't crowded or loud. I walked with a girlfriend who's also giving the dating thing a go and we commiserated over dating pitfalls, communication challenges, and the shocking lack of punctuation and equally shocking profusion of text message short cuts in online profiles. (Curses upon the LOL!) The conversation was easy and comfortable. We listened and laughed and watched the world go by-- puppies, young lovers, old lovers, cyclists holding hands. It felt like a two hour holiday.