Around the Fire with the Neighbors

   We had just got home where the phone rang. It was Ben from next door. They were going to have a fire and wanted to know if we wanted to come over and roast a few hot dogs with them. We had picked up a pizza on our way home, so C told Ben that we were going to eat and then we'd be over.
  I was sort of surprised that they were home this weekend. Like 3/4 of the people who live in Minnesota, they have a cabin that they go to on weekends. (Which makes me wonder, where do people in northern Minnesota have their cabins?) I was looking forward to spending sometime getting to know them better. We always waved to each other when we were coming or going. Our two driveways share an outlet into the street. Ben is very good about pushing the snow away from the entrance after the plow has gone through. C and Ben have talked a bit, but I didn't know either of them very well.
  After we got done eating we walked across their yard to where the fire was. I wasn't sure if was going to be any drinking at all. I brought along a bottle of sparking water to sip on just in case.  Ben and his wife, Brenda were there along with Darla, the older woman who lives on the corner. They had two chairs there for us and we sat down.
  I'm not the best at small talk, but I know that they are quite and justifiably proud of their three grown children. I asked after them. Their son, a nurse was thinking about going back the school to become a nurse practitioner. The daughter who is a dentist was doing well. Thier other daughter who had also gone into the dental field as a hygienist had recently moved out of their house and closer to her job. I had started off on the right foot.
  We talked about some revitalization work happening in our suburb. We talked about Door county and Grand Marais. Ben recommended a movie,The Book Thief, that he thought we should watch. Every so often Darla would get up and add a little kindling to the fire. Sometime she would rake the embers with a garden rake near her chair. We talked for a couple of hours.
  I caught both Brenda and Ben yawning. I knew it was time to go home, we had had a long day. I was looking forward to a little rest. A few minutes later C told the group that we were going to go home. We thanked Ben and Brenda for inviting us, shook their hands and walked back across the yard. It was a nice way to end the day. I like our neighbors and our little neighborhood.