Today I cannot not tell you about Gloria.
My day began with Breakfast with the Authors at the beautiful Wianno Country Club in Osterville. Osterville is a small town on the south side of the cape, right on the water. There is only one word to describe Osterville: elegant. From the shops, to the restaurants and cafes, to the bank and post office, right down to the wide cobblestone sidewalks of Main Street: elegant. I have only been to Osterville three times for writer’s functions and never took the time to park on Main Street and explore the town. My plan today was to do just that after the breakfast – and get that baby shower present I never got to last week.
The authors that spoke were wonderful. (books showcased below) Martin Sandler is particularly entertaining. He’s in his eighties and has written 86 books. Half his books are for adults and half for children. He travels the country speaking and if he comes to your town, don’t miss him. He told us he always knows when he has a good story because you’re sure “You can’t make that up!”. And, that’s why I must tell you about Gloria. “You can’t make her up!”
After purchasing my baby shower present in an elegant little shop called The Oyster Emporium (only in Osterville), I preceded down the street in search of lunch. This little cafe looked perfect. I read the menu out on the sidewalk and the food and $5.95 prices were perfect. I entered what looked like a soda fountain in an old time drugstore. There were only two tiny metal tables along the wall and it was clear everyone ate at the counter. As I sat down, I noticed the lady one seat away from me. She was an elderly woman with jet black hair and covered in gold jewelry. It was so dazzling and stark, I hardly noticed the rest of her outfit. As I asked the counter waiter what the soup of the day was, the woman began telling me it was squash soup and she just had some and it’s the best around and I really should get it. I looked at the young boy waiter and said, “Guess that decides it. I’ll have a cup of the squash soup.” I looked back at the woman and she had the most piercing black eyes, done up in very black eye makeup. She started talking to me immediately. She told me how she’s been all over the world. Went to school in England. Knows the queen and Prince Phillip. Is a Buddhist. How her husband is a doctor. How she was a real estate broker in Boston. How she commuted from Arabia to the US on weekends. How she’s ridden on fox hunts with kings and princes. How her husband works in Indiana now and commutes to the cape on weekends. How he only spent one full week home this past year. How she had one apartment and two homes there in Osterville, only one of which she now owns. How her husband almost ran over the ghost that was in the middle of the road that told her to buy this house. How when she went back to look at the house the ghost (who was a man in big ballooned yellow pants) was sitting on the steps and the door was open and the keys were hanging in the doorway. How the house was moved to the next lot so they could build the bank that’s now on the corner. How she takes in rescue animals and has 16 cats and 6 dogs. How she asked a young girl to come live with her. And, during all of this, every time someone would come thru the door, she’d say, “Get a look at this woman coming in out of the corner of your eye.” Then she’d proceed to tell me just who they were and what their place was in the town.
Needless to say, I had, by now finished my soup and half of a tuna sandwich and was ready to pay my check and continue my afternoon exploring the town, but Gloria was no where near slowing down with her stories. Now, I could’ve ended our, no…her, conversation politely, excused myself and left. Something made me instead, look at the boy waiter and ask him to bring me a cup of coffee. I spent another half hour listening to Gloria’s amazing stories, extending what was supposed to be a quick lunch, to 90 minutes. Finally, a couple came in and sat on the two stools on the other side of me. She immediately talked across me and and said, “I have to tell them the food is well worth waiting for.” Seeing this as my graceful escape, I said goodbye and told her I enjoyed meeting her and went to the cash register to pay my check. On my way out the door, I said, “Bye Gloria!” She held my hand and said to please just come and knock on her door anytime. As I was stepping outside, she was saying to the couple, “Oh you must try the squash soup”.
Wow! As Martin Sandler said, “You just can’t make that up!” I had suggested she write all her stories for her children and grandchildren to have. She told me she never had children. Just a big house and lots of money. After I left, I was glad I ordered that cup of coffee and spent that extra thirty minutes.
Every day I fill out a meditation sheet that asks me three questions: What did God teach you today? Where did God take you today? And how did God use you today? Needless to say, answering those won’t take much thought tonight.
And so, as another day goes by, there’s much to be said for a small house, a few children, and no money, and…..I have written.
Loved this post. You were so descriptive it was like i was sitting there next to you.