osento

tonight i took the 48 up 24th street and met rebecca at osento. i felt i was in a foreign land walking down valencia at twilight. the air seemed softer somehow, less people and litter and more thought out costumes and hair styles. uncrowded elegant restaurants are creeping down towards ceasar chavez. osento is a women only spa, with hot tub, cold plunge, wet and dry sauna, lounges to lie on, quiet talking, no bathing suits. lots of different colored and shaped bodies are sitting and lying about. flyers about raising your lesbian gay bisexual or transgendered child. rebecca and i spend the first kidless visit together in a long time. talking is different in person. talking is different in person. the phone is really a weak substitute. rebecca and i have a GOOD conversation, yes about kids, but also about creativity, and lost friends, and racism and we can get a little deeper into the subjects because we are not interrupted by babies climbing onto tables and requests by little people to make spiderwebs or buy lip gloss or stop talking to our adult friend. we are in a hot little wooden capsule with a friendly stranger, naked, rubbing salt on our bodies, sweating. the kids are home. i am out. the phone is no substitute. mothers need alone time. afterwards we go to a fancy french restaurant and share one teeny apple tart with a scoop of ice cream on top the size of a cherry . i drink a fancy pear brandy and then rebecca's french wine she can't pronounce and doesn't like. we steal 6 bar olives. we get excited exchanging recipes and dinner ideas and this is good, these details about how many garlic cloves in the lentil soup and how our husbands are both trader joe junkies. we envy a man across the bar his mussels and salad. we are both too poor for more, but rich enough for this little treat. now it is dark and i catch the bus home. i know no one on it. a couple of young guys looking for a party. women with head phones on. a tall very dark dad and his son get off with me and see their transfer bus coming. we can do it says the dad and they sprint off together across crazy potrero avenue, fast and smooth. maya wakes up when i come home and i break my own rule and let her nurse, she is happily surprised, and rich is playing his calming video game and now here i am typing, my back hurts, we are off to point arena tomorrow for a big tiring adventure.