I sleep late for me, but Michael and Julie are still zonked. It gives me a chance to work on the computer for a while.

It’s afternoon again when they rise. We chat and decide to go for a swim while daylight lasts. It’s less windy today which makes the pool more comfortable. I watch Julie, thin as a rail, move with great care in the water. She persists with her ginger movements and stretches in the water for an hour or more, then rests in the sun. They talk quietly while I recline, sharing a bottle of wine with Ann in my mind.

Michael and I go out for dinner again, and this time I break my spending fast and treat him using a credit card. We discuss the need to contribute something and my experiments with money. Michael loves it. To him I’m a living hippie-adventurer-Bodhisattva, invincible in spirit. I appreciate and share his enthusiasm in a sense, but I also feel that he’s trying to fulfill some of his own desires through me. It’s ok, that’s one of only a few things I have to offer to people I meet on this trip. We both enjoy ourselves.

Back at home I’m spellbound by Julie again as she spins tales of hospitals and doctors, and how they react to her keen eye and capable mind. She’s accumulated a formidable amount of knowledge applicable to her condition, enough to intimidate anyone I imagine, even a doctor. Her stories illustrate this and other fascinating aspects of her experience. I wonder what other mysteries lurk in this remarkable woman, and my heart says a prayer for her survival.