I was definitely in the "missing him" mood tonight. Nothing mattered and I acted like a machine, going through the moves, okay, work, okay, after-work, whatever. But at some point I felt hungry - a good sign? The restaurant I chose was not crowded (a work day) and really nice. The food was surprisingly good and so was the wine.
The table next to mine hosted four people. Two couples, both aging - slash - elderly, I'm not exactly sure of the age. They were having a great time. I, in the meantime, felt like saying a prayer. I missed him so badly I needed to remind myself of the good things in life. And so I started with the usual: thank you Lord for the warmth in my heart so I can give it to others and to be with them when they need help. And so on and so forth.
Laughter at the next table broke off my prayer. They were having fun, those four. Apparently they were talking about Disney Land and about California in general. They talked about the highways and the traffic, the long lines, the tickets. And all the while there was a reason to have a laugh. And so they had it. And then they ordered desserts.
The desserts arrived, for the four of them to share. One of the ladies took the spoon and had a bite. Yum!!! It was so obvious the desserts were great. And then she spoon-fed the lady sitting next to her, like a child. Then took another bite, then again fed the other lady. That other lady had no arms or legs on her. I looked. And then I looked again. That's right. No arms. No legs. Boy, were they having a fun conversation!
The lady with no arms or legs wore earrings (I could see her clearly now, not too concerned about getting noticed by the men sitting at her table) and a nice top, lace I think or something like that. The sleeves were dangling, and so were the earrings as she moved. The Earrings!
She talked a lot. She talked about her job and about something else, I can't recall now. And she nodded as she talked, and she threw her head back as she laughed, and the earrings just kept dangling, and her armless, legless body rocked on the wheelchair in which she was sitting (I finally noticed). And the other lady just kept spoon-feeding her, matter-of-factly. And yet tenderly.
And then I thought - Thank You Lord. For her. For the fun. For the life.