Fire crackling sounds among evening birdsongs were the accompaniment to my first official salon: A Night of Literary Loquaciousness. That and boisterous laughs. I can’t escape them; I never wish to. My floppy summer hat floated on top of my head as I lifted bags of solid ice out of my car, the ones that have been sitting at the bottom of the cooler in the grocery store for God-knows-how-long. Being the tail-end of Memorial weekend, I knew there would be only dregs to pick from, but that was okay.

Kerani and I began setting up. We displayed a table of fabulous accouterments for those guests who didn’t bring their own. The demand for fabulous outfits and accessories had been on the invite, so there really was no excuse, but we knew not everyone had crowns and fascinators laying around, so we brought extras. Drinks were put into ice, chunks now broken down into the cooler in slightly smaller boulders than they were in plastic bags. Chairs arranged in a circle encouraged the group to share their finest works among friends. Then the pizza and fire pit showed up, and all was perfection.

Soon our guests trickled in and we began to relax and enjoy the process, though this group is known to talk quite a bit, so we had to keep an eye on the time. We had prepared ridiculously outlandish introductions for each person, drawn from a chalice to ensure random order. First drawn went like this:

Royal bearer of a most magnificent and marvelous mustache, naysayer of the Department of Redundancy Department Dept., a spirit who, on very rare account, is rendered speechless. Though his words may sweep across the land in lengthy turn, it is nary an editor who would permanently seal his lips, for his storytelling is as delicious as Flaming Hot Cheetos…please put your hands together for Corey!

And so Corey read a piece of his literary glory, and we listened with rapture. The next person to read was none other than yours truly, and I received a beautiful round of ovation from my peers after a magnificent intro that highlighted my multitudes of hair flowers and my twerk-tastic skills on the dance floor. The night was glorious. I felt the energy from my fellow wordsmiths fill me up with joy, creative energy and love.

Allowing myself to hug and be near so many (vaccinated!!) friends felt like a devious coup in this pandemic world, but we kept our communication earnest and had all had our shots. So we hugged, shared our creative works, and stayed up way too late. I cannot wait to see what the next one holds!