Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

That's where we've been tonight.

We ended up with our lovely American friends, on a lovely American airbase, with their lovely American friends, who had lovely American children, eating lovely American burgers and pretzels and the infinitely gorgeous but sickly s'mores.

You may have noticed, Dear Reader, the use of the words "lovely" and "American" in that sentence. The eagle eyed of you will have seen that the two words go together, no less than 5 times. Those of you who read here regularly will know that this is nothing short of a miracle.

We had a good time. It has enabled the AC to rethink his opinion of Americans. He knows one nice set - the family we went to see, and one very troublesome set - the She-Ex. (He still sees the BG as English, but being brought up abroad.) So he, and to some extent I, was of the 50% variety. And now, we know more lovely Americans than we do troublesome ones, so therefore life is good and the country itself looks a little more rosy!

Yes, he and I both appreciate how daft that is, but you'd have had to live our lives and loves to really understand. The suing conversation happened again tonight as well, but I forestalled it.

But we had Mandatory Fun.

Most of today, the AC spent wanting to be with me, on me, around me. It was a very snuggly day. As a bereaved child, I think he's entitled to a few of those!

I missed Rich a lot tonight though.

(We went past the place where it happened today, twice (there and back) and I felt it both times. I will have to go there and do the thing that needs to be done. It's cool.)

We had a good time, I was at a place he had never been to, so there were no memories, but in the other trouser leg of time, there he was, chatting about Sci-Fi fiction with Curt, taking part in the breadstick duels with Jazz, showing the AC how to roast marshmallows, sitting with his arm around the AC and I, watching the bonfire, carrying the AC to bed at the end of a long night.

But it's a poignant missing of him, not a gut breaking pain, tonight. And so that's ok. I'm going to bed. I'll read for a bit, and I'll think about him.