Andy worked late tonight. I took the bus downtown to the Film Center and watched “The Phantom of Liberty.” I was alone; I couldn’t get ahold of anyone to go with me.

After it was over I caught a train going north. Leaving the station I crossed the street and on an impulse went to Dunkin’ Donuts and bought a medium coffee with cream and sugar. It felt good to stand there outside on the corner, the warm cup in my hands. It was cold but well above freezing, the pavement just glistening ever so slightly.

Walking east on Belmont there was a vague layer of fog hovering just below the tops of the trees. As I walked past the apartment buildings I thought about the people inside them: watching TV, asleep, sitting on a couch or lying across a futon. I thought about the empty apartments, waiting in silence for the people to come from home from the bars. I thought about my own apartment, also waiting for me, and my computer.