Holiday Guests

Holiday Guests

 

 Two years ago, there was a wicker bench, with a quilt made by her grandmother, on top of it. It seat in front of the fire, so if either one of us wanted a chair by the fire, we could move Bo the cat, out of our upholstered char and onto the wicker love seat.

Late one night, before bed, about this time of year, I watched the shadows of the fire moving about on the blanket, and started to think of my own Nana, sitting on an upholstered chair, at the Daniel Bishop house. There was white embroidered lace on the arms of that chair, and she would often be doing something with her hands--mending, sewing, something.

I imagined the shadows on the quilt as a movie of vague memories, from both our pasts, playing out in this one place, in front of the fire. These were the spirits filling the house during our holiday, like guests meeting for the first time, and being old friends, nonetheless.