Dinner with Friends II

I met Ilajna and Nixon for a quick bite to eat yesterday. We introduced Nixon to the pleasures of Kati Roll and Macdougall Street.

Ilajna has recently started a new job, and it was lovely to see her so glowing and happy and excited about her role and company. "Guess what, guys!" She exclaimed, "the company had a sale for all its employees - a whole bag full of cosmetic products for $20!"
"Lucky you," I replied.
"Here," she said, "so I got you and Nixon some presents."
It was a touching and thoughtful gesture, an Ilajna-typical gesture.

Out she produced a Santa's stocking of cosmetic bottles - exactly the kind I love to have but never take the trouble to buy for myself. I couldn't think of what to say. "Thanks," I said. But it felt inadequate.

Nixon was fretting about starting her new blog. She couldn't think of the right name, or what to put in her first article, or what to say in the beginning, or whether she could keep going. It was exactly the kind of anxiety and pressure that I had felt when I first started writing here, not so long ago. So I knew she would be just fine.