Out of the Blue
“My, my! Elizabeth will be very pleased.” Digby had come early to his office at the back of the kitchen. Even the coffee machine had a high polish on it. The water reservoir and the coffee bean receptacle were both filled. Clean mugs set out. Spoon container filled with clean spoons. All that was left was to choose a mug and push the right buttons. Not a dirty dish in sight. Clean table cloth on. Elizabeth always left the kitchen just as spotless, but on the few occasions when someone else was tasked for cleanup, it was never as good. He wondered if the excellent work was just Miss Emelina and Dez, or if the men had helped. Sure he’d learn those details from his wife, he just smiled.
On the way in, he picked up the mail and planned to open it when he got to his office. “Coffee first.” Martha was still asleep, so he just slipped out of the house quietly. It wasn’t really a work day for him, so he was dressed casually. For Digby, casually meant he didn’t have a tie on and a suit jacket was replaced by a ‘Mr. Rogers’ cardigan. Martha had been teasing him about that for years. Once at this desk, he set his mug of hot coffee and the mail down. Settling in to his chair he leafed through the mail. A power bill, a letter from the Estate lawyer, two requests for donations and ….. he set them all aside. The last was a letter from his brother Tom! He hadn’t heard from him since he and Martha had visited them in the summer.
Hello James!
You know I’m not much of a letter writer any more, but I’ve just come in from clearing snow. More than there was last year. Purchased a pretty heavy duty snow blower that can clear a side walk a lot faster than the old one I had. But it still takes a lot of work and shakes my arms half off my body. Been watching the news and heard the reports of the snows you’ve had. Probably all gone by now with the rain.
Sofia and I have taken up this new sport ‘Pickle Ball’. Do you have it on the Island? Strangest name for a sport I ever heard of, but we have fun. The town has a community building with a gymnasium where they set up the nets. It’s kind of like tennis, ping pong and squash all combined. Sure beats clearing the snow. After our games, the group always goes for hamburgers. There’s the usual cranks that want to run the place, but we just let them be with their worries.
That’s about it for us. Drop me a line when you have time and maybe we can get together again this summer. Say hello to everyone at the Estate ~ we enjoyed meeting everyone.
Hope you and Martha are well. Sofia and I enjoyed your visit this summer.
Love Tom
Digby read the letter over again. On his desk, he kept the photograph of the snowy forest that James had sent him. Out loud he said to Tom’s letter “Yes, Martha and I do need to make another trip up, but in the snows this time. Not sure that’s a good idea. I’ll have to talk it over with her.” He heard footsteps at his door. “What do you need to talk to me about?” Surprised, his wife must have been up practically after he left for the office.
“Martha, I’ve had a letter from Tom. Mostly it’s about snow blowing and Pickle Ball. That sport you want me to get involved in. He wants us to come visit again. He said this summer, but what do you think about a winter trip?” Seeing a frown pass across her face, he hesitated. “Well maybe not, but could we think about it?”
“We can think about it, James, but isn’t travel in the mountains in winter dangerous? We’re Island people and if anything happened…. We’d have to buy new winter clothes and boots… How would we get there safely?” Martha was already planning and worrying at the same time. “Well, let’s just discuss it and I’ll call Tom tonight and see what month is usually the best for travel.”
“Breakfast’s ready, you two.” Martha had already spoken with Elizabeth about their lack of breakfast before leaving for work. She hadn’t eaten either. Almost speechless about the polish that had her kitchen shining, she almost hesitated to get cooking. “Just scrambled eggs, toast and tomatoes.” Martha finished setting the table. The three friends sat down and over the simple breakfast, James told Elizabeth of Tom’s letter, Martha filling in possible travel plans while they ate. After the excitement of Christmas had calmed down, it felt good to look forward to this new possibility.
~~~~~
“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement
of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”
~ Gloria Steinem
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