We saw relatives I hadn’t seen in a
long time – not that there were so many people, but time and geography conspire
… a tall cousin who Grandma’s little old lady friend described as not having
stood close enough to his razor that morning—although the last time I had seen
him, I’m pretty sure he was about ten. I think it was the first time I’d met
said grandmother’s friend, as well, who I remember as a concept more than a
person—known as unafraid to speak her mind, clearly.
More or less a tea party – a short service, with my youngest
uncle on the trumpet and selected hymns in a church my grandfather had helped
to design so long ago—followed by a long tea party and story exchanges in the
old-church-turned-gym, with bars over stained glass to protect them during
basketball games. Well played—both the tea/service balance and the
window/basketball plan. A man from my mother’s high school with a feather in
his hat. A new-to-the-family toddler too fast for his feet. Grandma’s little old lady friend
wondering how she would keep up with the family now.
Driving home to my parents’ house, then home to my
apartment, what did I carry? Daisy clip-on earrings. A to-do list. Pictures of
the leaves as we drove by in a blur – sunshine there, rain on the way back.
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