Alone together

It was quite. The lake was still, a cool breeze tickled the trees, and the din of the family's chitter-chatter was at a comfortable distance. Alicia did enjoy spending time with her family. Her grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and nibblings.

As much as Alicia loved them all, spending the day with no less than twenty people could overwhelmed her and fry her nerves at the best of times. Throw in a particularly hectic week preceeding the gathering and Alicia was just about desperate to steal away a few moments of quiet.

Beside her, Darcy, her Saint Bernard mix seemed to agree with her. The six year old dog had been her constant companion ever since she had adopted him as a puppy.

Darcy, just like Alicia, did enjoy interacting with people but had a limit to how much he was willing to engage. Both of them would need a "recharge" after an hour or so of socialising.

But their alone time was always spent in each other's company. They would rather be alone with each other. Probably because neither had to justify their existence to the other.

It had always been this way. At the end of the work day, Alicia would simply sit in be with a book in her lap. And Darcy would be right there, either gnawing on a chew toy, or simply lying about lazily. She would say not a word to him. Didn't need to.

It was the same when she went through her break up, when she lost out on a project at work, or experienced any other inconvenience, be it big or small. The mere act of sitting next to Darcy was therapeutic for her.

Alicia debated whether or not to head home. They had been at the gathering for about three hours. They had eaten lunch and she had made small talk. While Darcy, for his part, had tolerated the touches and pets of her younger cousins and nibblings.

She stood up and was about to take her leave, when her grandmother called out to her. Dessert was being served.

Alicia reentered the house to the smell of a particularly lovely chocolate cake. There were even dog biscuits for Darcy.

Solitude would always be golden. But there was not harm in enjoying tasty treats with loved ones every once in a while.