Ah! Alas, Ben, strangers scare me. Not any unknown face that comes near me, and not fleeing in terror, but dealing with strangers beyond things like, “Credit,” and “Yes, I’ll take the receipt, please,” and “The ranch dressing will be fine, thanks,” can be stressful sometimes. And not predictably, so I try not to make a fuss about it when Deb wants to do something that involves social interaction, because usually I’m fine. But I prefer not to deal with folks when I’m alone and can avoid it, so now that Deb is back working at a new part-time job (no homework! No weekends! No sitting down to supper at 6:30 — no, sorry, more like 7:00 — nope, the boss needed to talk about something, hopefully home by 7:30?) and it’s just me at home, I take my walks up and down the stairs when I go get coffee or tea from the kitchen.