At the end of a solitary walk to my car, she’s waiting for me in the passenger seat. This time, she greets me with a smile. “Have I got a juicy one for you today!” she beams. I silently thank the fates for that. Sometimes she can be rather tight-lipped at the most inopportune times. Seating myself behind the steering wheel, I turn the ignition and ease the Scion onto the road.

We banter back and forth, discussing this bit of inspiration or that plot point. She seems to be most amenable on nights like tonight when the traffic is light, the city quietly glows with artificial light and a gentle rain falls from unseen clouds.

After taking a more circuitous route than necessary, I pull into the parking lot at the neighborhood Denny’s. As I grab my laptop from the back seat and open the door, my passenger quickly blows a kiss. “Good luck on your writing!”

With a grin and a skull full of Ideas, I shut the door on the empty car and head inside.