Izakaya redemption

I walk with Emma, fellow mama of 2,
Into a room full of lights and laughter.
A smiling face hands me a glass of red shiraz …
The bright beginning turns sombre soon.
The lady in our row wants to leave a gap between us.
“Social distancing”, she says. We all smile, but for at least one second, we all remember that even though right now life is good and we are in the cinema, mask-less, watching a movie like normal people used to do, the Pandemic is still raging on in the world.
The film is just as surreal and chilly as life with Covid-19.
Frances Price has fast-diminishing funds,
a son with a frustrated fiancée,
and a dead husband who is now a cat.
She looks exquisite and they go to beautiful Paris but
after the movie, Emma and I need a pick-me-up.
We dine Izakaya style at a little noisy Japanese bar.
The food smells good, the chefs beat the drums every time a soul enters or leaves, and people are laughing and kissing wildly everywhere like they’ve never heard of Covid. It’s a little disconcerting at first but we settle in quickly.
Over sesame green beans, pork gyoza, ice cold green tea and yum-yum prawns on a shallow bed of rice, we chat love gained and lost, children, life.

9 Mar 2021