I call them the Good Witches, when they meet, there is often laughter, tears, honesty. I am never there, and Maria rarely discusses what they  talk about. But she values them, andI often see a white light around them when they are together, they meet religiously and weekly at the Round House Cafe for lunch.

I think it’s a coven.

It is always meaningful to watch them, there is so much trust and support, it is visible to me. Today, I had lunch with my friend Scott at the cafe – men don’t generally make or keep friends like this, but Scott and I get together when we can.

We were on the other side of the cafe, maybe 20 yards away, but I could feel their presence. All that was missing was a hissing fire.

During lunch, I sent Maria some suggestive – okay – dirty Emoji’s from my new Iphone X.

Is this what they mean by groundbreaking technology?  She showed them to the other witches and there was much laughter from the table, I could hear it and feel it across the room..

By contemporary standards, my Emojis are not very dirty, I could put any of them up on the blog without much embarrassment, especially these days.

I tend to the prudish side, but Maria has awakened some other sides.

I love the new animated Emoji’s on the X, they use Artificial Intelligence to scan my face and incorporate my voice and facial features into the Emojis on the phone. Maria cracks up when she sees them.

And I am careful where they go.

I once sent a very romantic text message for Maria to our snow plow man by mistake, he took it very well. I admit that by contemporary stands, they are not worth exposure on Twitter. One day, I’ll share them, I do think they are kind of funny.

The Good Witches are important to Maria, and I think also to Athena and Mandy, the other witches. I do think they have magical powers – they can open and close doors from a distance, numb bees and yellow jackets and move dishes and plates.

Unlike most men, they value friendship highly and place it above some other things in their life. They rarely miss their gatherings. Men, say psychologists, often put friendship far behind work and other obligations. That has often been true of me.

They do give off a kind of white light when they are together. The witches are committed to these gathers, they have, over time, come to trust one another. Maria looks forward to seeing them, telling them what is happening in her life, what bothers or frightens her.

I think they are two of the very few people to whom she tells things she doesn’t or can’t tell me, and that is important I think, every one needs someone outside of their inner lives that the can speak openly to.

We have very few secrets from one another, but secrets are important, it is healthy to have some. Maria and I have both had difficulties with our biological families, in our town we have found a true community.

I think the witches are like family to Maria, like sisters. She says they fight, talk, cry and share with one another. That’s what a really family is, I think.  They can quarrel and have difficult moments, they work through it.

Our families couldn’t do those things. We just couldn’t really talk to each other.  I think, in some ways, the Mansion has become my family, the refugees as well. We just care for each other.

It feels good to me to see the witches, there is a warm and open feeling about them that you can see across the room.

When I can, I send cookies over to them, they love sweets.

They loved the idea of dirty Emoji’s. Me too.