Alarm was set at 8.30am for a prompt departure for Chiswick at 10am. L and A both put on real clothes for the first time in a while, with A wearing his new linen white shirt which L made him iron. A made L a coffee and himself an avo toast and they packed the car with extra clothes and snacks for the drive. First stop: Chiswick, to celebrate Misha’s 24th birthday. She was wearing a really cool vintage jacket which L liked and they opened presents including the Liforme yoga mat from A, as well as other treats from the parents. It was raining so L and A sat on the sofa next to the open door. A’s mum had made a great orange and almond cake (without whisky inside, so parents had it separately instead). They left after an hour and headed to Gail’s on the high street to grab some stuff for Arabella’s family. Sadly, whilst waiting for the sourdough, L had a fight with the umbrella and it won and her finger was cut quite deeply. They rushed back to A’s house and his mum helped disinfect and bandage L’s finger and she was super grateful. L was having a pretty bad day (her stomach was still hurting) and as they got in the car to set off to Oxford, and the rain continued, she really felt like it was not her day.
Alex tried to cheer L up on the drive with old school R&B tunes, but it did not work. Also, the phone holder for the navigation was killing Leila slowly and her phone dropped twice on the floor. She was about to cry. A saved the day and found another support for his phone. The drive there was pretty smooth apart from that, particularly after we had figured out where Ali lived (he hadn’t sent us his address, but thankfully his mum came to the rescue). L dropped A off on Iffley Road near Ali’s house and she headed to Wolvercote to see Arabella’s family.
A chilled with Ali initially in parks near his house. He was a bit tense at the start but after it went back to normal and they hung out, drunk beers and ate bread and cheese. A forgets how long Ali has lived in Oxford and that he has a full life out there, but thinks it is sad he may not come back to London. Meanwhile, L sat on Arabella’s garden swing outside and only ran into the house to pee with gloves on. She stayed clear of Arabella’s family but felt like she may have sat too close to Arabella on the swing. The weather cleared up and they went for a long walk on Port Meadow and saw lots of people, cows and horses. It was so nice to see Arabella (having not seen her since December) and they chatted about everything. Then Arabella gave her a really nice slice of bread from the village shop and L headed back to collect A. She met Ali briefly which was nice. Then they headed back through some traffic and a huge thunderstorm which lasted a really long time. It took almost 2 hours to get back. They both collapsed a bit on return. A headed for a super long bath whilst L made herself a little dinner (A had overdosed on bread) and she watched a little One Tree Hill, whilst A played games and commented throughout. After heading to bed, they both decided they weren’t that tired yet and A told L a story which she participated in about L going into a cave to find a Hogwash machine with her husband Legolas and pet racoon, called Racoony. L fell asleep in the middle of it (success) and actually imagined herself in a cave (double success).
Coffee, Wine and Isolation 