Witch Casts Spells From Table At Sidewalk Café

Had a little daddy-daughter time with Kina yesterday, and the weather was nice, so we ate outside at the popular restaurant across the street—where Kina can always get a table without a reservation. She was dressed in an Elsa costume (natch) and carrying one of her many makeshift magic wands, which is a good way to keep her occupied while we wait for food. As our pasta was being prepared, we toasted each other with orange juice (her) and wine (me), and she cast spells on the people walking by: tough Dominican dudes, stylish Israeli women, small dogs, kids on scooters. One by one, all were transformed into chatty princesses and happy subjects, twirling and grinning. Once she had them in her thrall, Kina would talk to her new friends about their scooters, the ladybug on our table, or their chic (her word) pink-handled shopping bags. She learned about how to buy presents for long-lost friends1, who was gonna wash all the clothes at the dry cleaner2, why one lady’s body was “very small”3, and all the names of another person’s many birds4. Kina was the embodiment of summer in a shouty little package, casting rays of light across the mismatched crowd of Brooklyn residents, all recently escaped from their caves.

Witches are good! We should all be so transformed! Kina is taking appointments.

dad