Borrowing a Little Sugar

There’s a cliche about borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor. I have neither a borrower nor a lender been until Monday, when I was teleworking, and a woman, South Asian in appearance, spotted me at my door, said that her family had just moved in, and asked to borrow a little sugar for tea. She said that she would be glad to return the sugar once she had gone shopping. I said that I didn’t have white sugar, only turbinado sugar, and she said that she was fine with that, so I told her I’d get some, and she didn’t have to worry about returning it; enough sugar for a couple of cups of tea wasn’t worth any trouble.

She gave me a metal cup, Indian in style, so I went and poured a tablespoon or two of sugar into it, and returned it to her. Maybe I’ll get to know these neighbors a bit.