THE CALL

When Bird came back to see me, one of the first things he told me was that we had to call Laura. I was so hyped by his being here that I agreed without hesitation – yes, of course we’ll call her tomorrow; it’s the middle of the night right now. It was only later, when I had time to think about anything else but his presence, that I questioned just what his request was all about.

Laura was my mom’s best friend, and I hadn’t talked to her at all in the 7 years since my mom had passed over. She was older than mom, who would be eighty in earth years, so that would bring Laura close to 90. Although I had heard nothing to the contrary, I wasn’t even sure if she was still alive. Life’s busy-ness had effectively got in the way of our keeping in touch.

Life’s busy-ness, or maybe it’s just the ups and downs of my short term memory, also kept me from trying to contact Laura the next day, or the one after that, or any of those following. On one sleepless night I did look her up on the internet. The name was still there, the telephone number still the same, but her address was no longer at the beautiful little house which she, at the time, had been sharing with her wonderful husband for the past 60 or so years. I recognized the new address. It was on a street close to the hospital; an area that catered to senior citizens with apartment complexes or nursing homes.

Of course, the next day, when I could have contacted her, I completely forgot all about it. And so it went on...until this morning, when the first thing I thought of on waking was that I needed to call Laura. Bird must have pinched me during the night.

I called her today. I recognized her voice immediately when she answered her phone, and heavens, she recognized mine! How happy she sounded to hear from me!! She’s as chipper and sweet as she ever was, and we chatted and laughed for at least 20 minutes. She told me that she thinks of my mom at least once a day, wondered how I was doing, and that she had lost her dear husband to colon cancer two years ago. Confined to a wheelchair, she sold the house and has a room in a senior’s home, and she is well treated. Knowing her, and her lovely sense of humour, I expect she’s the darling of the place.

Someone had told her about Bird’s passing, but she showed no surprise when I explained to her about his asking me to call her. I believe her exact words were, “What a lovely thing! “ I expect she is convinced that it was mom’s way of telling her best friend that mom was thinking of her too.

We made plans that I visit her next weekend. When I hung up the phone, I said aloud “There you go, Bird. I finally followed up!” I felt no pat on the back, but I was aware of satisfaction; I don’t think it was just my own.

I SMILED.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.