Old Friends
A Gillibean and Amanda Clapham Story
For Gillie Rollo
For Gillie Rollo
The two little girls ran giggling to their grandmothers, who were sitting next to one another in the matching rocking chairs on the front porch. Between them was a round table upon which sat a thick utilitarian tea pot covered with a crocheted cozy, a plate of biscuits, and small containers of cream and sugar. Each of the older women held cups half full of tea, chuckling at the small girls running toward them like kittens after a mouse.
The first little girl, a delicate child of about five years with bouncing blonde pigtails, sat on the ground in front of her grandmother. Her friend plopped down next to her. The second girl was a ruddy redhead with a wild mess of curls and a face full of freckles. It was the freckled-faced girl who spoke first, bouncing her curls as she excitedly exclaimed,
“Grandmother, tell us how you met each other! Elena wants to hear the story again!” This girl was a little older than the blonde, about seven, and full of the authority of an elder.
The little blonde giggled. She really did want to hear the story of how the two grandmothers had met. It was a story she never tired of hearing.
The two women glanced at each other, taking a sip of tea and setting their cups down in unison. One woman reached out her arms toward the redhead. “Come this way, Kara. You may sit in my wheelchair.” The child climbed into the fancy electric wheelchair her grandmother had been using since she was a child, which was parked next to the woman’s rocking chair. She held on to the arm as she settled in. Her grandmother placed a hand over hers.
Elena climbed into her grandmother’s lap and snuggled closed as the woman’s arms wrapped around her. Her grandmother began to tell the tale.
“Well, girls, here it is. It isn’t a long story for such a long friendship. Once upon a time, I was an actress. I was on a television show that my friend here, your grandmother Kara, really liked. She liked the show, and my acting partner, Alfie. I guess she liked me, too, as an actress, right, Gilliebean?”
Kara’s grandmother nodded, laughing. “Well, I guess I did. I watched the show every time it was on. Then, I started watching everything your grandma was in, Elena.”
Elena smiled, “Really? Did you really?”
Gillie nodded, “I sure did.”
Elena’s grandmother smiled. “I really enjoyed acting, and one of my favorite things to do was to meet my fans. You know what I mean, the people who liked me or, at least, the characters I played. One day I was scheduled to do a Meet and Greet at a bookshop in a small city in Scotland called Dunfermline.”
Gillie began nodding excitedly. “That’s the day!”
Kara sat up a bit more, knowing what was coming. This story was as familiar to her as her own mother’s voice when she sang lullabies. Kara knew this wasn’t an exciting story. It was a calming story, a sweet story, just like a lullaby. It made Kara feel warm and cozy.
Elena is still a little girl, thought Kara, she thinks it’s an exciting story, just like I used to think. Maybe it’s the way Grandmother lights up when she tells her part. Kara smiled to herself, feeling rather grown up, and watched her Grandmother’s face as she spoke.
“I heard that Amanda was coming to the bookshop, and I couldn’t believe it. She was going to be so close! I begged my mother to take me. She told me she couldn’t do it because of the time. I was soooo disappointed.”
Kara and Elena both whispered “Soooo disappointed,” just as Gillie said it. Both girls giggled into their hands and waited for the rest.
Amanda said, “I had been signing autographs for what seemed like hours, when I saw this beautiful woman in a wheelchair—“
“Wait!” yelled both girls. “Wait, she didn’t tell how she got there!”
Laughing, Amanda said, “Oops! Gillie, I stepped on your toes there.”
“Oh, dear…we must be getting old. Well, my mother couldn’t take me, but on the day, my sister surprised me. She came to pick me up, but she didn’t tell me where we were going. You should have seen how surprised I was when we pulled up in front of the bookshop. I almost cried! I was so happy!”
“So, then,” said Amanda, “I was signing autographs so much my hand was tired and all I really wanted was a cup of tea. I saw this beautiful young woman in a wheelchair coming up just as the line of fans came to an end. As she rolled up to me, I saw that she had a photograph of me from when I was in Hollyoaks. It was one of my favorite photos of me. As she handed me the photo, I looked into her eyes, and I saw nothing but love and excitement. I gladly signed that autograph.”
“And then...” Kara asked, knowing the next part already.
“And then,” Gillie said, “and then Amanda asked me to join her for tea! My sister had some errands to run, so she didn’t mind me staying in town a little longer. So, we went to tea at a little teashop that was next door to the bookshop. We had the most wonderful conversation.”
“That was the beginning of our friendship, and now we visit each other whenever we can. As you well know children, since we are often blessed with your presence during such times.” Amanda finished.
The girls clapped their hands as if they had just watched a lovely play. Gillie patted Kara on the head. “Now, you girls run and play for awhile. It will be time for us to take you home soon, Kara.”
Elena wriggled off Amanda’s lap and skipped over to Kara, taking her hand. “Come on, Kara, let’s play book shop ladies.”
“I want to be the famous actress!” yelled Kara as the two ran off.
Amanda reached over and poured some more tea into her cup, then into Gillie’s. Handing Gillie her cup, she lifted hers up and tapped it against her friend’s. “Here’s to friendship!”
The women sat together chatting about their two different worlds, rocking and sipping tea.
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| Photo from http://jiheseyuyi.co/ |
