The day was gray and the pavement was featureless and unyielding, but Mabel Watson Payne had no difficulty warming up every cubit of hard-edged Union Square with her ebullient presence.
She and her father share a fondness for ramps. And flights of stairs.
I was freely treated to a demonstration of step-climbing, an accomplishment I had not observed before.
After the outdoor afternoon bottle we walked back home at a good pace because the daily mother-baby reunion was almost ready to happen. There was risotto with chicken livers for dinner but Mabel Watson Payne ate mostly strawberries.
