She's Gone...

Everybody's high on consolation
Everybody's trying to tell me what's right for me
My daddy tried to bore me with a sermon
but it's plain to see that they can't comfort me

Sorry Charlie for the imposition
I think I've got it, got the strength to carry on
I need a drink and a quick decision
Now it's up to me, ooh what will be

She's Gone, Oh I,
Oh I'd better learn how to face it
She's Gone Oh I, Oh I'd pay the devil to replace her
She's Gone - what went wrong?... (Hall & Oates)

Nothing went wrong.
I just put Aviva on a Montreal-bound plane a few minutes ago. I miss her already and James and Bart are inconsolable without someone allergic to shed fur on.
Yesterday we spent a really glorious last day together.
We ended up downtown, exploring the Riverwalk from beginning to end. They empty the river for cleanup every January, so we walked along the romantic sludge without millions of tourists blocking our meandering.
Being avid Cow Parade devotees, the highlight of our day was a visit to my friend Brad Braune's gallery.
Brad was in the last stages of completing his two entries for Cow Parade, one a cactus cow and one a tooled leather cow. We got to watch him paint and took some photos of Aviva between the two cows. As one of the premier artists in South Texas, his cows will be displayed prominently in town and my hunch is they'll be chosen to be reduced to miniature cows that people can add to their collections.
Then he gave us an incredible deal on a small watercolor painting, so A. and I now have our first piece of art together.
She didn't want to leave today and I didn't want her to go.
We both had colds most of the two weeks, and she had a blocked ear and contracted food poisoning the last few days from those fucking puffy tacos, but we still managed to get out and explore a lot and see most of what South Texas has to offer.
We finally defined our relationship. She is Felix and I am Oscar of The Odd Couple.
Still somehow it works. We got along better than we ever have on this visit.
She packed two suitcases weighing more than 125 pounds combined. She bought enough Texas related crap to stock a gift shop. She found some terrific tan doeskin cowboy boots. She looks great in a cowboy hat, but she didn't get one.
I think people visit San Antonio and either love it or hate it. She loved it.
Mission accomplished. Now what?