unexpected pleasure

It was on the plane from Denver to Oakland, I suppose, that I caught the rotten cold that's still keeping me up nights coughing and sent me to bed for two days when I should have been at the Mythcon - a big disappointment, since I'd prepared for it pretty thoroughly by reading books by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman as well as finishing the new Harry Potter in record time.

But there was no question of going either Saturday or Sunday. I had a genuine fever for the first time in years. I felt lucky to hole up in the guest room of my daughter's house in Berkeley where I could eat chicken soup from Saul's. Sunday afternoon I changed my reservation on the train home from Tuesday to Monday.

Who would have guessed that my dear friends Esther and John would be traveling on the same train. But there they were in the waiting room at Jack London, and what a lovely day we spent together!

We chatted for hours, read companionably, enjoyed the cafe manager's running commentary on the scenery, had a more than decent meal with a good wine, and even met a Chinese mathematician with a unified field theory to trade for John's. The sun set as we passed through the mountains.

It didn't make up for the excitement of the Mythcon, but as far as consolation prizes go, I couldn't have asked for more.