There is a restaurant below my house called El Racó de les Bruixes (The Witches’ Corner). Last August – when Jan was away in Hong Kong and I was home alone – there was a problem with the water in our building so Joan, one of the owners of the restaurant, had to climb up to the roof every night at 2am to refill the deposits with buckets of water so they would have enough water to finish washing the dishes. Barcelona is very hot in August… I would leave my front door open to help circulate air… I stay up late… I’m usually on the computer (right next to my front door)… so I would see Joan reach the top floor every night with bucket in hand. It started with a simple “Hello”, but after a few nights of seeing the same guy walk past my front door at the same time, the conversations got longer and longer. I would offer the use of our garden hose and stand over him with our flashlight while he filled the deposits. He and his wife knew Helen (a friend who bequeathed us the flat) so we would swap stories and chew the fat out on the terrace. Since then, I’ve gotten to know all of the waitresses who work there, Joan and Marta’s two little kids, and all the regulars who stop in for a chat from time to time. Now, whenever I get home late at night, I always stop in for a drink and a chat before climbing the six flights up to my bed. I’ve become a regular! A regular “Norm”. Instead of a glass of wine when I get home from volleyball practice, they know to have a bottle of water waiting for me. Today, Joan asked me if I wanted to go with him, his wife, and two other friends up to San Sebastian in the Basque Country to watch a Barca football match and party with them next month. I almost said yes, but they’re going on the weekend before Picasso opens so we’ll surely be stuck in the theatre all weekend getting ready. I wonder if I would have said yes if I was free…