On Sunday we went on a long walk.

I grew up in the suburbs. My parents were overprotective and I wasn't allowed much alone time. We rarely went on walks together and as an adult my philosophy has been "Why walk when you can drive?" I saw walking as inefficient and boring.

C spent months battling my adversity to walking. I would argue, "It's too cold. It's getting dark. My feet/back/legs hurt!" But slowly, I started coming around. I started seeing things that you can't see when you're flying by in an SUV. That house on Grove with the lovely yard. The intricate architecture, specific plants and trees I'd never noticed. The long quiet stretches and the conversations that come up. The decision to stop into a restaurant for a drink just because you happened upon it.

On Sunday we walked to VCU. It's a long walk, but the day was overcast and cooler than usual and we wanted to get out of the house. We stopped for coffee and tea at Starbucks. We walked past the park, and saw a cat in a window. When we made it to the library it was closed. We sat on a bench and finished our drinks. We remarked that it was getting darker and windy.

On the walk home it started raining. C suggested we stop at Garnett's, a tiny restaurant on Park Ave, and wait out the storm. I had bubbly glass of vinho verde and a cheese plate. C had a sandwich and a couple of beers. When we left it was still raining, but we didn't care.

We were almost home when we came up behind a man who was stumbling and using the building next to us to support himself. It was only 4:00, but he was very drunk. I was closest to him, and groaned under my breath. Drunks are unpredictable and I don't like being around strangers when they're drunk. Wordlessly, C put his hand on my waist and pushed me behind him and to his left, putting himself between me and the man. This gesture, so small, meant so much. My eyes stung and I smiled, wrapping my arm around his. C doesn't often verbally express how he feels, but as long as he keeps protecting me from drunk, homeless people he doesn't need to.

Once we were a block ahead of the man C told me that he had seen that same man about a week ago. He was on the way home with a pizza when the man stopped him. He was holding two jars and said, "What are these??" C said, "That one's peanut butter and that one is relish." The man pointed to the peanut butter and said, "Which one is this again?" and C said, "That's the peanut butter." And the man held up the relish and said, "What's this one?" and C said, "That's one's the relish." And walked on.

This seems like a fairly normal day, but it was a day that wouldn't have happened if we had been in a car. It would have taken 10 minutes to get to VCU to find the library closed. Then we would have gotten home before the rain started. I probably would have watched some show about mental disorders on A&E and C would have done stuff on the computer. I am so thankful to C for showing me how much more there is to the world when you're not behind glass windows with air conditioning. I may have taught C how to drive, but he taught me how to walk.