Daria Doering

Once Mike and I had gone somewhere together but in separate cars. Then we agreed to meet at Ace Hardware in Hillcrest to shop for something together on the way home. I got there, and texted Mike that I was there, in the parking lot in the back. He texted me that he was there too, in the parking lot in the back. I texted, “Why can’t I see you then?” and he asked the same thing. Then we called each other, and had some tense words about the fact that we were both claiming to be there, but couldn’t find each other in the small lot.

Finally we discovered that there are two tiny parking lots behind Ace Hardware. Each of us knew about one of them, but not the other! That was pretty amazing to find out.

It has always felt like a metaphor for our relationship. We each know a piece of what there is to know about life, but not the whole thing, nor the same piece. We can help each other learn about what we don’t know, just like that elusive second parking lot at Ace Hardware