Small worlds and all that

When I was a bride living in Germany we were friends with another couple, a musician and his wife from upper state New York and their infant son. Even after we returned to the States we stayed in touch and after my marriage broke up, my daughter and I visited them often. By that point they had a little girl, one year older and I have pictures of the two girls at various stages.

One of those visits gave rise to a family story. Before driving back to Boston, a good six hours, I called home to let me roommate know we were on our way. Once in the car my daughter started to talk and talk and talk. She recited nursery rhymes, she sang songs until I thought I would go mad. Nothing would stop her. At home I staggered out of the car. She did too and hoarsely whispered to my roommate, “I did like you said, I kept Mommy awake.”

Finally we lost track but they were in my thoughts. Last week, I did an email search and found the name of the son, working at a company. I took a chance and emailed.

An email came back. It was the right one and Sunday night my girl friend and I had a good chat. Despite life’s disappointments and successes, her voice sounded just like it did when I sat at her kitchen table watching her roll out pizza dough. I half expected our two little daughters to climb into our laps.

However, when we started talking about our kids, we discovered that both girls were now living in Leesburg VA. As soon as my friend sends the contact numbers I’ll pass it onto my daughter who is looking forward to talking to her childhood buddy.

At one point my friend and I caught up on our mother’s who have both died. We had at times difficult relationships. I wonder what our girls will say about us, but then again, maybe I don’t want to know.