Member-only story
Non-Human
Dealing with death
I hesitate to tell this story because it makes me sound crazy, but after talking to two other widows, I learned that they had similar experiences after the death of their husbands.
In June, I joined a spiritual book club at The Lynx Bookstore. It’s the shop’s only club that meets during the day — 11 am on Sundays. Once a month, I travel across town to my meeting. The club attendees are engaged and interesting; everyone participates, and our discussions are lively and friendly. Afterward, I walk next door to Humble Pizza to order a personal pan pizza to go. I am uncomfortable eating alone in restaurants and have only done so when there are very few patrons in the dining area.
After the August book club meeting, I went to Humble, ordered my pizza to go, and waited at the bar. I dreaded going home. During the prior week, I’d had a six-day irritable bowel syndrome flare-up that had kept me stuck at home. Going home to eat alone was not appealing.
I surveyed the restaurant and realized that there were very few diners — only two tables inside were occupied, while the dining porch was busier. I decided I could sit at a small table in the back corner and eat my pizza while reading the next book selection for the club.
As soon as I decided to dine at Humble, more and more people arrived. A few were…
