We went on like this for months, just not making the connection. I became more intrigued as time went on. I looked her up in the church directory, learning her name was Nancy, and she had a husband and four kids. From seeing her in church, and looking at her family photo in the directory, I figured she was in her early to mid 40’s, quite a bit younger than my 60.
Time went by, and we’d have these quick hellos, but never really a conversation. Then, about three months later, my wife passed away. The folks at the church were quite supportive, and since my wife was a member of the church, I had the funeral there. Everyone was most gracious, for which I was grateful.
I had put the word out that, as much as I appreciated the good will, don’t bring a lot of food over, which is a fairly common thing to do for the recently bereaved. My thinking was, I’m only one person, I will wind up with far more food than I can possibly eat on my own, and I hate to see it go to waste. I was perfectly capable of cooking for myself, and I was also really good at ordering food from restaurant menus. A minor consideration was that it would also save me from some of the more unusual concoctions that some folks prepare; I’ve seen too many times where people have been bombarded with lime Jell-O, marshmallow, cottage cheese surprise. I did mention that folks should come over and say hello, and visit for a while, as I would enjoy the fellowship. I was blessed to have a number of folks from the church come to visit, and I got to know quite a few of them a lot better than I had until now.
I had no idea how well. About three weeks after my wife’s passing, a white Toyota van pulled up in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. I didn’t recognize the vehicle, but that was happening a lot those several weeks. As I looked out the window, I saw a pretty blonde step out. I immediately recognized her as Nancy, my back up singer. I met her at the door.
“Hi,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Nancy. I heard about your wife, I’m so sorry.” I took her hand, and what started as a handshake turned into a long hug. I felt her smallish breasts press into my chest through the top of her long knit dress.
“Thanks. I’m Tom, and I appreciate you stopping by.” We pulled away from each other, our hands lingering on each other’s. “There have been so many people from church coming to visit. It’s been comforting.” I looked into her eyes a moment, almost getting lost in the bright blue. I regained my composure. “Well, come in. Sit a few moments. Can I get you something?? Tea?? Water?? Soda??”
I led Nancy into the living room. “Water would be great,” she said. I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and brought it out, along with a soda for me.
“I have to admit something,” I said, drawing a curious look. “For the last almost a year or so, I’ve been noticing you catching my eye.” Nancy smiled. “But I have not been able to catch you to chat, or at least say hello til now.”
Nancy smiled. “Yeah, I realize. One Sunday when I was up on stage, I noticed you with your wife. You seemed to always be looking after her. I thought it was sweet.”