Definite improvement

We were invited by some friends (a couple) to come to a barbecue at their house on Sunday. Another friend, a guy, would also be there. We accepted the invite but knew it would be a real test because, for whatever reason, Dom has had more problems around these two men than anyone else, even when he's not going through one of his rough phases. They're both nice guys and have never done anything upsetting to Dominick other than talk to him or laugh around him.

So we went, and by some miracle, things went better than we could have hoped. Dom had a couple of near-moments when people laughed, but otherwise he stayed remarkably calm. It probably helped that there were two cats in the house (not so great for me--I'm still feeling it), and Dom had fun chasing them around. One even lunged and hissed at him, and he wasn't bothered at all. Later, we were outside playing with those little firecracker things that you throw on the ground. Dom found them hilarious. It was really nice to see him laughing and having fun around other people, especially people whose last impression of him was hearing him scream at the sight of them. Finally, they got to see the other side of Dominick.