Margie, before the dam broke

Here’s Margie, reflecting on the pleasures of the reunion of all her children the week of July 18. We had planned for me to join them all for breakfast that Thursday, but of course I didn’t. I couldn’t inflict my grief on her family in the midst of their joy in each other’s company. Sue helped me draft a text message saying I’d had a “family emergency” and couldn’t be there. Then last week I missed seeing Margie again because I was at the Pacific.

Today when we met for our usual coffee, Margie sensed something immediately. “Are you ill?” she asked. “Has something happened?” I put off explaining and asked her to tell me about her time with her sons and daughter. They had gone out to Sauvie Island, out to dinner, driving around Portland. They had gone to a nursery to buy new plants for her window box. When she said, “It was great having all my children together again in one place,” I couldn’t hold back the tears. I told her. She reached out for both my hands. We spilled what was left of her tepid coffee all over our legs. We laughed and tried to mop it up. It was just as I needed it to be.