How ya doin' tonight, she said, long blonde hair sweeping over her shoulders. Great, my companion and I said, School start here yet? She smiled, handed over our beers, No. Next week. I'm ready for it, you know? The kids are ready for it. I've got three kids, 12, 7 and 3.

Do you live in New Windsor? I asked, thinking about all the little towns around there. Yeah, she said, but I'm not from here. Me and my husband, we got married when I was sixteen, we've lived all over the place. First we got married and lived in ___________, then I had my first boy, then we moved. Then I lost a baby and we moved again. I had my seven year old, then I lost another baby. She smiled and looked away for a second and went on in a self-deprecating voice, see my husband used to beat the shit out of me but he doesn't anymore. He knows better. So then I had my littlest and we ended up here. We have a pretty big house but I've been working on getting rid of some the kids' stuff. They have way too many toys! She went on to talk about her house, her readiness for restless kids to be in school and the fact that her oldest boy wanted a cellphone. We talked with her for awhile longer and then she moved on to do some bar chores. My companion and I went on with our evening, chatting about everything under the sun from relationships to religion but underneath we were both thinking about this sweet woman who lived a life that I know we don't even understand.