Delbert Henderson liked steak. "It's my favorite meal," he
told Leta, “steak and a baked potato.”
Leta liked the same meal, although it was beyond her budget to
have steak more than once or twice a week. However, she preferred mashed
potatoes to baked. She ate baked potatoes, she told him, but give her mashed
potatoes with a pat of melting butter sprinkled with salt and pepper over any
other kind of potato any day.
“At least we both like potatoes,” Delbert laughed.
“And steak!” Leta added, laughing as well.
They were enjoying what was to be the first of many suppers
they would spend together. Leta and Delbert had known each other for several
years. She met him and his wife Beatrice through her husband Richard Eckman.
But now Richard and Beatrice had both passed away, leaving their respective
spouses to reconfigure their own lives without them.
At first, they met occasionally. After all, it was December
when they started spending time together, and they each had family obligations
for the holidays. Still, they managed. They had their pensioners’ club, and
both were on the Christmas party planning committee. Also, as they weren’t the
primary planners respectively in their family activities, they were able to
meet a couple of other times. Christmas week was very hectic for Leta. She
spent Christmas Eve with her son Dale, daughter-in-law Kathryn and their
family. She spent Christmas Day with her daughter Vivian, son-in-law Ed and
their family. Three days after that was her great-grandson Jerry’s first
birthday and the following day was Vivian’s birthday. Delbert had his own
family activities.
On New Year’s Eve, they joined three other couples for a meal
and card playing until the wee hours. Delbert loved to play Pinochle. He and
his late wife participated in two different card clubs. When she passed away,
he did not join his fellow card players for months, but once he learned Leta
could play, he invited her to join him. Leta liked his friends, and was a
shrewd player. They won all but one of their games.
However, she did have more to drink that New Year’s Even than
was advisable, and as the evening wore on, she became more boisterous. She knew
she was speaking too loudly, laughing too easily and being aggressive, but she
had no capability to stop or slow down. She even sang “Auld Lang Syne” with
relish. At 1:00 am, Delbert drove her home and was incredibly silent and stiff.
While she wasn’t sobering, his mood quieted her as well. As was proper, he
walked her to her door and without so much as a “Happy New Year,” he turned
around and went back to his car. She stood just inside the door and watched him
until he was out of sight.
The next morning she felt badly and wondered whether or not
she should telephone him and apologize. She didn’t. Instead, she finished her
coffee and toast, cleaned the kitchen and prepared for the family dinner at her
daughter’s house. At noon, her grandson Larry arrived to pick her up.
To be continued.
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