rshort1202

Outside in a parking lot there is what looks like a small carnival/festival tent over some seating. The tent is very low, only a few feet off the ground, causing me to wonder what kind of effect that has on the spread of the virus. I see that it’s a Brewer’s Cabinet ‘information’ tent - it’s spelled out in small light bulbs. They are serving tasters and I think it, with it being dim and nice outside, would be fun. I go into the main building though; it has a mostly light wood interior. I pass through two vestibule type spaces, each only big enough for a person or two. The first has greetings written in various neon colors all over. I think there’s also a menu that I largely pass over. The second space has the beer menu taking up at least two walls and also written in neon colors. There are a few gold winning beers at the top. Each beer is labeled with who brewed it; at the very bottom, this includes even the janitorial staff. I wonder about how good those are. I notice mostly IPAs, but a fair selection of others. At this point, someone comes over to take my order. I’m still looking, so she recommends a brown ale that you then email the brewer with what it tastes like. (I think it’s supposed to ‘taste like poop’?) I tell her no, look for a tiny bit longer, then end up picking it, I think just because a brown sounds good anyway. They tell me its 8.8% and 8 something else, maybe the price? I’m outside with the beer now. I try it and it’s smooth, kind of light, chocolatey, and pretty good. The glass seems somewhat small. I ask a passing server if they have chicken tenders and he chuckles and says not really because they’re so dry. (I think of the ones I got once at Claim Jumpers). I think Melissa is here now, and we’re sitting. There is quite a bit of seating. We put up an umbrella that is pretty structurally unsound.

Melissa and I have had a baby. We are somewhere outside where there are a bunch of tents set up - like camping tents, but I think slightly bigger. I think all of these tents are for couples and their newborns. I also think this is the first time we get to see our kid. Sitting outside of the tent, the baby is revealed to me. When I first see her I cannot help but to grin and be filled with joy. She is chunky but very pretty, with fine, yellow hair. We have named her Makayla, and, in fact, she looks like both Makayla and myself as babies. She crawls around, smiling and laughing (it looks like she’s around six months old). She gets that same devious expression on her face that I sometimes get and it causes me to feel excited. ‘She is spunky’, I think, imagining the years to come. I play around with her, making her laugh, giving her kisses. I tell her jokes and I think she actually talks back (not 100% mature, but definitely too advanced for her age). Now, I am leaving to go to a Starbucks that is right by here to reheat a drink for Mom. I walk through some storefronts along a slightly winding paved area and don’t notice anyone else out. Just as I come up on the Starbucks, I realize that I am not wearing a mask and that they may not take kindly to that here. Moreover and probably more importantly, I realize that I am completely naked. I become aware of my bare torso, backside, and penis juxtaposed against this setting. I wonder about the legality of this and then go back to get the coffee that I’ve forgotten anyway. I come back, this time clothed, but without the coffee. There are people wearing face masks and waiting, distanced from each other. The barista behind the counter sees me and goes to take my order, but I tell him I forgot something and I’ll be right back. Now, I am taking the coffee out of a microwave (not sure if it’s in the Starbucks or not). It looks like a short sized cup of a tan colored coffee drink. There is ice in it, but I think it may also be hot? I try it and it’s creamy and really not all that good. Mom is here, sitting on a long, brown leather couch. She takes the drink, tries it, and agrees with me. I am back with Melissa now and we are going to go home with our kid. I think about what life is going to be like now with a baby, specifically the nights.




I am with Dad somewhere and he’s talking about walking around some of the houses in this neighborhood (I think they are nice). I’m looking at one across the street right now. It is right next to the asphalt street and looks to be completely a glass curtain wall with vertical supports every ten feet or so. Right now it is mostly a reflection, so it’s almost as if it’s disguised, not there. Dad says he was walking by one and taking a picture and then he thought someone was about to come out and punch him - except it was just a woman? He says he offered to show her the pictures, that they’re just scenery and nothing bad. I tell him I feel weird/bad about taking pictures sometimes, too. Dad’s going to go for a walk right now and is offering for me to come. I look out and slightly to the right and see a woman walking up a slight ravine in a mostly green hillside.