The Eclipse

Kiki, who's staying with us, said there was an eclipse Sunday night. This eclipse reconnects... communication and long-lost relatives.

Preparation

On Monday, The Man certainly received communication from Yemen. He leaves Friday. Much needed to be done to get him ready.

Yesterday, I bought his travel medical insurance. I confirmed with OHIP he doesn't need to extend his OHIP coverage. I found out what to do to extend OHIP and the medical insurance if his assignment is extended beyond six months. We found out what he had to do to obtain a visa for Yemen. Would you believe you can just pick it up at the airport when you land? That was a lot of phone time. And The Man still found time to drive his cousin Kiki downtown to pick up a rental car.

The Reunion

Yesterday, Kiki met Liki.

Kiki was visiting her aunt in P.H. and took the 1 PM train back to T.O. to meet her long-lost half sister, Liki. The night before, they arranged on the phone they would touch base when both have settled back in T.O.

Now Liki happened to have booked a ride on the 1 PM train to T.O. from Ottawa a few days before. When the train pulled into P.H. at noon, Liki thought, Since Kiki is going into T.O. from P.H. about now, I wonder if Kiki would be boarding this train. So she inquired of the conductor, who helped her locate the P.H. car. He checked the ticket stubs he collected and sure enough, there was a ticket bearing a last name that was the same as Kiki's. They went to that seat and asked, Are you Kiki?

That's how Liki found Kiki on the train.

They shared a cab to my place to drop Kiki off, then Liki went to her cousin's in Riverdale. Meanwhile, Kiki rented a car so they could drive to Guelph to meet Liki's children. Liki returned to our house at 4:00 to meet Kiki. After a short visit, The Man and I drove them downtown to pick up their rental car. By the time Kiki and Liki drove out of the car rental agency, it was close to 5:00.

Liki drove since Kiki was not used to driving on the right side of the road. But Liki and Kiki did not make it to Guelph till 9:45. They were stuck on the Gardiner till 7:00. They got into a minor accident when their car hit the one in front. They got lost and drove to Hamilton, twice.

But Kiki enjoyed meeting Liki's children. The daughter is 21, petite, and a chatterer. She is studying Veterinarian Science. She has Kiki's family look. The son looks nothing like his sister. Kiki's jaws dropped when she saw him. He is an Adonis. The silent type too. He is 20 and studying Physics.

Back To The Man

Today, The Man got vaccinated, he picked up medical supplies and stationery supplies, and he bought a few pieces of clothing.

We cobbled together a gathering for Thursday night. I've asked that family and friends drop by to wish him well. I'm exhausted from cooking three batches of chili tonight. That's what we're serving tomorrow. Chili and salad. The Man has started packing. I can't bear to watch.