Close (long-distance) call

Francisco Santos is back in Toronto with our copies of Undressing the Night. Says everything is perfect -- well, one tiny spelling error in an inconsequential place. I'm looking forward to when he sends me some of my share of the copies. The close call was that because of delays at the printers, the book wasn't ready until only a few hours before Francisco passed through Costa Rica on his way back to Toronto. On top of that Norberto, our publisher, couldn't reach him until the last moment to find out which plane he was on -- he was inaccessible because his mother suddenly had to go to the hospital (now she seems OK). In other words, the trip -- from the point of view of its main purpose, getting the books -- was almost a waste. What a relief when I phoned Norberto on his cell and found they were having lunch together at the airport in San Jose. Lots of fun talking to them both.