Dear Wigleaf,

I'm writing this from my desk. I work from home now. Instead of taking two trains and a bus to meet with people in a brightly painted space, I meet with them over Zoom from a little storage room I've converted into an office. I like it. It's cozy, and my desk faces a window overlooking a tree-filled playground.

The other night I dreamt I was riding a packed train. I was looking up, trying to pretend I wasn't body-to-body with strangers, when I realized I didn't bring a mask. Do you ever get those dreams? The new "naked in a crowd" dream, I guess. A man on the train offered me his. "That's OK," I said, blocking my nose and mouth with my hand. He leaned down and pinched the fleshy inside of my thigh. I could feel his nails digging into my skin. When I woke up, I remember thinking, "second-hand embarrassment sometimes feels more embarrassing than first." I have no idea what this means. Maybe I've been binging on too much junk food and gossip and negative thoughts.

One day we'll meet in person. We'll shake hands. Maybe we'll even hug, or is that taking things too far?

All the best,
NW