Overnight With Mary

My friend, Mary, called me last week and said that, since her husband was going on a trip for a week, she thought it would be nice if I came out and stayed with her for a while. I really don't like being away from home for too long but I knew it would be fun so decided to go and stay with her for just yesterday and today. We had a terrific time.

Mary and I go back to the 1970's when she married my brother-in-law. We became good friends but then their marriage broke up. Mary and I remained good friends and are to this day. There's something comforting about being in the company of someone who has known you for many years and seen you at both your best and your worst and still loves you. That's what good friends do and that's why they're good friends.

We hit the casino yesterday. I lost as usual. Mary came out a bit ahead. We had eaten a big lunch buffet at our favorite Chinese restaurant so didn't eat dinner until around 9 P.M. Mary barbecued burgers but we were still so full from lunch that it was difficult getting through even one. We drank wine and watched a new show on T.V. We yakked half the night and when I finally went to bed I couldn't sleep. It could have been the wine.

This morning I gave Mary a crash course on Ebay because she and her husband want to start playing around with it. At 10:30 we zipped out to McDonalds for breakfast and then Mary was kind enough to accommodate me by stopping at a few yard sales. We also stopped at a few stores and then went to a place we'd found that sold only Hostas. I got one for the cemetary but it's so goshdarned gorgeous that I might keep it and take one of my own out to the cemetary tomorrow.

I got home around suppertime and settled into my quiet little house. As much as I loved spending time with Mary, there's no place like home.