Taking In

     Our contact fell through on our way to Chicago. We drove betwixt the sky scrapers, the sheen from the sunset lancing our windows as it bounced amongst them. Still coming down from my New York success, I hadn't any worry of failure in Chicago. Driving to a bar seemed like the natural thing to do in a cooling metropolis. We found ourselves in a heavy metal themed bar chosen because loud music spilling from a single open door and lines of grungy adults are good indicators of a good time. To add to our glass clinking jubilance were fat, messy burgers named after heavy metal artists. Things couldn't be better. Until we left the bar and realized we had no where to go.
     Choosing a direction, we walked in search of another bar, a questionable goal since we had just left a well stocked house of beer. We found nothing, no cold brew, no couch to crash on. The car was our best option for overnight passage. At least it seemed better than paying $80 each on a hotel room. I half slept in front of the bar we started at.
     Sleeping in isn't an issue when sleeping in a cramped, upright position. We were the first people in the coffee shop that morning. We made calls and answered emails and found a place to stay the next night which is always a victory.
     We rode our bikes into a small city park. City parks are places that cars aren't allowed. Cyclists have the most power because they control the next fastest mode of transportation. Stepping onto the green of a park changes how time functions. Things slow down. Breathing is easier and fuller. People smile at each other. I can turn around and see the hard edges and hear the strident howls of the city where I had just been.
     In the center of a concrete refuge was a mirrored world shaped as a bean. I stared at myself. That self wondered how the other self felt about being in the real world. An alien bean, unnaturally smooth, splits my perception of the sky, doubles sky scrapers, and mimics the sun. I felt akin to the bulbous reflector except instead of projecting an image of Chicago I sponged it up. I gathered the sky scrapers and sun and park and commotion and pigeons and hot dog stands and ball caps and assimilated them into my growing reservoir of love. Almost bursting now.