Here it is Thursday, and I have not written to you for days. Between traveling and testy Internet connections and never being alone, composition has been difficult. So here's the summary: On Monday, we took the train back to Providence from D.C. We spent the night at my parents' house and then, on Tuesday, bid farewell to them and to the boys and went to Martha's Vineyard. I had never been here before, so the island's proliferation of cute architecture was a surprise. Tom and I have been filling our day-and-a-half with aimless projects punctuated by naps and meals. We hold hands and walk very slowly, and Tom has even taken to talking to strangers, which is a remarkable development. But our peculiar idleness ends today: we take the ferry back to the mainland, and continue north to Concord, where Tom has a photo show and an artist's talk and where no one has told us where we will be sleeping. Perhaps it will be the car. If so, I hope the temperature drops.