Near the end of September, I wrote about a line in the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in the post Meet Me in Montauk.  Clementine whispers these words to Joel as the last memories of her are dissolving from his mind.  In my imagination, I whispered them to someone I once dated, someone who loved sacred dance.

“Meet me…” I added, “in the beautiful forest by the water where everyone has gathered to dance and love, share and embrace, by the bonfire under the stars.”

A few weeks later, my brother suggested that we hold our next ecstatic dance event in a nature preserve just outside of town.  He once deejayed a party there.  A friend set up the reservation.  We will gather there tonight.  I drove to the park to survey the location.  Our picnic shelter has two large fireplaces and overlooks a big river.  On one side is that awe inspiring vista.  At sunset, nearly a hundred sea gulls were surfing the breeze in the far reaches of the sky.  On the other side of the shelter is a beautiful forest, a meadow of towering trees leading into acres of woods.

I just went to the store to buy marshmallows and hot cocoa and searched for fine cookies.  I haven’t purchased cookies in more than a year, but I wanted to provide something special for our guests.  I think this may be our last dance.

My eyes were drawn to a package of cookies by Pepperidge Farm.  They were called “Montauk.”

Tonight, I will dance in a forest by the water with people I love.  I’ll stand near the blazing fires, share and embrace… and nibble my Montauk cookies.