"Time's getting shorter."
"Tell me about it. I'm so happy for Kate."
"Yes, this is a good thing. It is so nice for her to have you and Max here. Did you see Maxie's giant sculpture?"
"He showed me the picture. I love it. I haven't been over to Vermont to see his land, yet. So, what have you been up to?"
Joe straightened. "This and that. I'm pretty well settled in Hawaii. I miss Portland sometimes, but . . . I've been writing a lot."
"Good," Ingrid said. "You always wanted to."
"And you?" Joe asked.
"Same old," she said cheerfully. "Selling quite a bit. I'm down to teaching one class."
Joe bent over and looked at her earrings. A tiny woman swung from a trapeze on one ear; an elephant waited patiently under the other. "Pretty good," he said. "A circus."
"A golden circus," Ingrid said. "I made a series. The clown is my favorite, but he's too sad for a wedding."