Sharing a home office:
Me: (at my computer, getting ready to write a blog entry).
Donna: (at her computer) “Oh-kay . . .”
Me: (waiting).
Donna: “You know that thing?”
Me: “Ummm.”
Donna: (silence).
Me: (trying to recapture the blog thought bubble).
Donna: “That thing on the thing.”
Me: “What thing on what thing?”
Donna: “Is there a country called Ching?”
Me: “?”
Donna: (getting up and showing me a hand-written list of countries an embroidery customer had given her, pointing to Ching).
Me: “Well, that has to be China. There’s no country called Ching.”
Donna: (goes back to her computer).
Me: (resuming work on blog entry).
Donna: “How do you spell Borneo?”
Me: “B-o-r-n-e-o.”
Donna: (now playing solitaire): “Shit!”
Me: (bubble gone again, considering playing solitaire myself).
Donna: “What country is Santurina?”
Me: “I think you should just call the guy who wrote you that list.”
. . . minutes pass . . .
Donna: (now on Google): “There’s a religion called Santeria.”
Me: (suppressing thoughts of placing a bloody chicken’s head on her pillow tonight).