Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – May 5, 2004

 Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – May 5, 2004

　Going Out For Breakfast

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – May 5, 2004 – My brother Eric and his wife Dorothy are on their way to France tomorrow night, for a week in Paris and a week in Brittany. I’m driving them to the airport to see them off on their trip. It’s a little gesture I like to do for friends and family.

As a thank you, Dorothy took me out for breakfast this morning at a little café on Queen Street East. She picked me up around ten o’clock. Always a lovely treat to be chauffeured to one’s destination. I may add “chauffeur” to my must have list when I’m rich and famous.

We arrived at Bonjour Brioche and I immediately asked the coffee angel to give me a reason to smile. He arrived with two steaming mugs of Java and deposited same on our table along with menus. We both ordered scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and baguette. A precursor to Dorothy’s trip to Paris. We sat and chatted about the real estate market, the amazing prices that are being realized for properties in our area and how lucky we both are to own homes in Toronto.

I live in Prime Riverdale while Eric and Dee live further east, in what I jokingly call the “fringes”. I tease them a lot about being “fringers”. That comment came from a real estate agent I met years ago when I was buying a house. She asked me where I lived. I told her, and she turned up her perfect, snobby little nose and said “How awful for you to be over there in the fringes”. I seem to have done okay for myself, even with that sordid little detail lurking in my past.

Breakfast arrived on nice white plates, coffee mugs were refilled and Dorothy and I settled down to enjoy a delicious breakfast treat. We talked about places we’d visited in France and the many wonders of Paris. We then made a conversation detour and decided we should plan a trip to New York later in the year. A little something to look forward to, especially because I tend to forgo vacations in favour of work, a little foible I’m trying to rectify.

We then had a really great laugh about how much Dorothy can accomplish in a morning. Her enthusiasm for life is infectious. If she could bottle it – she’d be a billionaire. This morning before she came to pick me up she had read part of her current book, had a long bath, made coffee, cooked up a fabulous pasta sauce, washed the kitchen floor, made a skirt, had a shower and then arrived to collect me right on time! Very impressive. We called our friend Big to tell her this bit of trivia and Big immediately said – “Tell Dorothy I’m going back to bed”.

We finished eating about eleven-thirty and thought about how much fun it would be to stay for lunch. We’ll save that idea for another day when we’re really hungry. I was back home and working at my computer again by noon. Our little outing was inexpensive and relaxing, but most of all a wonderful way to start the day.

I often forget how easy it is to plan time with friends, to go to neighbourhood haunts for a break away from the usual routines of the work week. It’s one of those small things that has a big impact on the day. Dear Diary – “Go out for breakfast more often”.