Times: Two

If you buy a ticket to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston you will get one free re-admittance within the following ten days. You will get the one free re-admittance even if you personally did not buy the ticket.

We were there on a Tuesday and a week had passed, so I made a point of using the ticket before it would expire. I ended up going on a Wednesday. I walked in and proffered my ticket and received a slightly puzzled look. It was then explained that Wednesday nights are donation nights and that anyone can seek admittance with a donation of any amount, even a donation of zero dollars.

I asked to use my ticket anyway. I was then informed that I could apply the price of the ticket towards a membership. I had been thinking of getting a membership and had pretty much decided that I would be getting on in the future so I took the offer to apply $20 that I had not personally paid for the ticket towards a membership that would admit two adults. I considered it as if we both were buying the membership together.

I think that it is pretty damn cool being a member of the MFA.

I told Melissa that I had plans of going back to use the ticket but I told her that I was most likely going to go on Thursday because I knew that they were open rather late on Thursdays, but after I told her I checked and found out that they are open late on Wednesday as well.

I wanted to share the good news with her but I think chatting on the phone in a museum is not cool so I pulled my iPod Touch from the breast pocket of my jacket and checked for a wifi signal.

I got one and send an email.

We emailed back and forth for a few times. I would take some photos and then check my email. She eventually told me to basically shut up and enjoy the art. I took some photos of the things that I liked and I took some photos of the things that I thought she would like but then the battery in my camera died and I felt alone in the museum. Melissa was no longer in my ear and no longer in my eyes.

There was still plenty of time that the museum would have been open and I didn’t want to waste the ticket that was a gift so I didn’t want to just leave but then I realized that I was a member and not only me but Melissa too because when they asked if I wanted to add a name to the account, I gave her name. We are “Contributors” of the museum and we can come and go as we please, we will get special offers, and discounts and member only invitations, we can leisurely stroll through exhibits and if we miss something we can return any time we wish in the future. Membership has its privileges.

I left voluntarily this time and by the front door, I was walking down the front steps when I realized I was about to loose my free wifi signal so I checked my email one last time.

There was a message which I replied to and then walked away from the signal; when I got home I read her reply.

I was just thinking of you when I got your email. I love you so much!

I hope you had a good time and got some photos.

When can I hear your voice again?

I miss you so much!

In the museum, there is the New American Café, it sits in the middle of an inside courtyard in front of the new wing; and to get from one part of the museum to the next, sometimes it is most convenient to pass through the courtyard, while I was passing through I glanced at the people dining, not actually looking at the people but just at the scene and my heart sank a little. For a week’s worth of meals I got to gaze at her and converse with her; we shared a table, a meal and a conversation and it bothered me that it was now missing.

I miss you so much.