Friendship across a lifetime

Bea is very tender with Leda, because she knows that Leda is very very old. Leda was enchanted with Bea when Bea was a newborn. She loved to watch over Bea as she slept. Now it's Bea's turn to watch over Leda.

On Sunday evening, I came to stay with Bea while her parents went out for dinner. She was in a very giggly mood. I had brought some fresh flowers and we spent quite a bit of time arranging and re-arranging them in a vase. This is a fascinating home-schooling activity, because we practiced sorting, naming, shaping, separating colors, discussing parts of the flower and so on. It was low-key, though, and a lot of fun. Bea is forever ready to learn something new. She loves the variety of things we talk about and do. We had a delicious pasta dish and some apple slices for dinner, followed by a bowl of Trader Joe's (Bea calls it "Traitor Joe's") honey-nut Cheerios, which Bea pronounced to be the "best Cheerios in the whole wide world."

When darkness came, Bea and I began calling for Leda to come into the house. We might as well have saved our breath. Leda is deaf, I'm sure. She might be able to hear a whistle, but she is very much an independent spirit. She wouldn't necessarily feel a need to respond. Where she goes when she wanders off in the woods in her geriatric drifty moods is something to ponder. I hope I don't get like her too soon. And if I do, I hope at least, like Leda, when the lights come on, I can find my way back to the house.