My husband and I lying in bed last night:

Me: I feel battered by everything: February, the coup. The coup. February. We should get massages.

Him: Yes! We have those gift cards from when we were in lockdown, still, right?

Me (excited): Yes! I’ll book tomorrow. (after a moment). Shit!

Him: What?

Me: Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day. It’ll be booked solid.

Him: Shit.

Me: Fking Valentine’s Day.

Him: Fking Valentine’s Day.

Me: Happy Valentine’s Day.

Him: Happy Valentine’s Day.

We both fall off the bed laughing.

(insanely happily married forty-one and a half years)

A few years ago when we were under lockdown, I spoke via zoom to Courtney Ruffner’s class at Florida State College, where Courtney is the Department Chair of the Language and Literature Department. Courtney assigned my memoir, MA SPEAKS UP to her class and one of her students, the very talented Lucy Hsiung, adapted a chapter from my memoir as a graphic novel in the style of Persepolis. See below: