The new bud vase

When I broke my much loved vase bought at George’s Folley in Brookline MA well over 25 years ago, I never expected Coca-Cola to help in its replacement.

Like teapots that have to be selected with expectations of a long relationship endowed with memory after memory, a vase is not a casual selection. Price does not enter into it. In fact the one that broke has cost under $5, but it had held the first spring yellow tulips on my hand painted chest in my much-loved Riverway Apartment, done justice to the bird of paradise spotted in the window of the Brookline Flower shop, and had been the holder of flowers brought by guests in anticipation of uncountable meals or bought from the marchés just because the apartment would be cheerier with flowers.

Thus when my friend, her daughter (the mom) and her son on visit from the US and I celebrated his birthday, the process began. Like me, they love Coke. Unlike me they no longer limit their intake. I used to drink it morning, noon and night and loved every mouthful. People talk about various diets, but I went on the Coca-Cola diet. By severely restricting the beverage I dropped eight pounds.

The mom had found almost miniature Coke cans as the birthday beverage, shaped like the bottles in the normal red, but decorated with pink stars, yellow hearts and a mythical golden city all very subtle. I got to keep my can which is more graceful than most bud vases I’ve seen.

Yesterday at the marché I found a red flower (I have no idea what it is) but it now stands in the center of my table in the Coke bud vase.

So if I tote up the pleasures beyond it looking pretty, I can add in my love of Coca-cola, the memory of the birthday party, standing with the son and mom watching the floats of carnival, getting lost looking for a hotel in Barcelona, walking through a château and some great conversations.

That’s a lot of memory emblazoned in the metal already and more to come.