Chapter Three

Miriam sat outside at a table overlooking the street and glanced at her watch for the third time in as many minutes. No surprise, Rona was late for their weekly lunch date. Rona was always late. Some of her friends considered it part of her charm; she did not want to be controlled by arbitrary rules like time. Miriam, however, did not find it at all charming. In fact, it irritated her more than she cared to admit. Nevertheless, the secret to her 71 year old friendship with Rona was that they celebrated the things they liked about each other, and they agreed to ignore the traits that annoyed them. Somehow, it worked.

Miriam casually waved the waiter away when  he came out to check on her and continued to sip her decaf latte. She scanned the street for signs of Rona's bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle or, as Miriam called it, "her silly little buggie."  Miriam had counseled her against buying it, suggesting that it was the equivalent of a tricycle for grown-ups. To Miriam, it looked like the car you drive until you're grown up enough to drive a real car. To make matters worse, Rona had recently had the logo for her non-profit  painted on the side of her car in large orange letters: NMET (No More Empty Tummies). Just as Miriam was thinking about Rona's painted beetle, a city bus passed by with NMET's new public service campaign emblazoned on its side: BAKERS WHIP HUNGER'S BUTT!!! Miriam laughed and then felt that sense of motherly pride that she often experienced when one of her daughters managed to exceed her expectations of them. Sarah was behind this campaign. She had organized her fellow local bakeshop owners to donate day-old breads and sweets to neighborhood homeless shelters. Not to be outdone, a local chef decided to organize local restauranteurs to do the same. Rona was thrilled. It immediately raised NMET's profile in the city and also insured that many, many more kids would go to bed with a full tummy.

Miriam had always been a bit envious of the relationship between Rona and Sarah. There was always a special connection between them. When Sarah was really little, she couldn't pronounce Rona's name so she called her Rara and the nickname stuck. "I want to go to Rara's house," was one of Sarah's favorite refrains. On her bad days, Miriam sometimes wondered if Sarah would have been better off with a mother like Rona, a free-spirit who let life roll and flow to its own rhythm. Miriam had orchestrated every second of her daughters' lives, and when they were finally independent of her, she struggled to try to control their actions by offering unasked for advice on everything from boyfriends to careers to hairstyles. Just then, a familiar car horn tooted and jolted Miriam from her interior monologue. She looked up to see Rona's sweet face sticking out of the passenger side window of her yellow bug.

"Parking is a nightmare today! I've been circling for ten minutes. Have you been here forever?"

Miriam tried to laugh but her annoyance turned her chuckle into a grunt.  "That's a bit hyperbolic, even for me. I'm just finishing up my 3rd latte."

A red pickup truck pulled up behind Rona's beetle and started honking.
"Yikes, I can't stay here," she said. "I'll head over to the outrageously expensive lot around the corner."
That was a private joke the two women shared. Every week, Miriam parked in the expensive lot while Rona circled the streets looking for one of the rare free spots.

A few minutes later, Rona swept up to Miriam's table and embraced her old friend in a warm side hug. Rona had always been the more affectionate of the women, and Miriam had learned to tolerate Rona's hugs.
"Just got off the phone with Sarah; she needs me to run over after lunch for a quick taste test. I guess that means I'll be skipping dessert."
Miriam felt a brief wave of jealousy that Sarah  had called Rona instead of her, but it passed. "What's she working on?"
"Mini bundt cakes. Sarah thinks thats the new thing; she thinks they will be the new cupcake. She's working on some really cool flavor combos. I'm tickled that she wants to use my raspberry icing recipe."
"She learned everything she knows from you and Granny Sue."
"She learned a few things from you too, Mims."
Miriam shrugged and changed the subject. "Did she say anything about her date last night?"
"Dud."
"Doug?"
"No, Dave, but she'll never see him again. He was another dud."
"She's too picky. They can't all be that bad."
"He told her that he was recovering from a cocaine addiction. He had dedicated himself to making amends for all the wrongs he'd done in his younger years."
"Sounds admirable. He must be incredibly philanthropic."
"That would be one way to make amends. Sarah explained that Dave has a different idea. Because he said so many hurtful things to people while he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, he's taken a self-imposed vow of silence every day from sun-up to sundown."
"Must have been a quiet date."
"They met at the restaurant at eight. It was already dark."
"Ok, so he's not the one. But what about all the others?"
"The frog to prince ratio is about 1000 to 1, Mims. You've never done this whole
internet dating thing, but I have. Trust me, its brutal."
"But you found Sidney on Jdate."
"I did and I'm grateful for him every day, but you're forgetting that I kissed a lot of frogs first!"
"If I remember correctly, you did a lot more than kiss them."
Rona gave Miriam one of her "drop it now" stares and changed the subject back to Sarah.
"Do you want to come to the tasting with me? The more the merrier!"
"Thanks but I've got a lot of errands to run this afternoon."
"Why are you so busy? You retired six years ago but you seem as busy as you ever were."
"I'm working on some projects."
"That's vague."
"You know me," Miriam said as she finished the last sip of her last latte. "I  like to have my ducks in a row before I start sharing the details."
"I'm sure you'll surprise us all, as always, when you're good and ready."
Miriam stood up and motioned towards the interior of the restaurant. "I'd better head to the bathroom before I burst. Too many lattes."
"I'll order the usual if he comes when you're gone."
And then, in unison, both women said: "No croutons on the Chicken Caesar Salad!

One of the perks of a great friendship is that feeling that someone in the world knows you completely.