three women
I was two blocks from work and barely on time when a woman with a dog stopped abruptly in front of me and pointed at the sky. I was startled enough to ask, "What do you see?" "The birds. They're migrating early." And then she fell in step with me as though we had planned to walk together. In the course of two blocks, I learned about her sleeping habits, what she's learned with age, her hormonal imbalance that, even at 73, makes life unliveable without hormone replacement therapy. She stayed with me, stride for stride, and spoke in such a confessional, comfortable way I started to wonder if maybe I knew her- maybe I had met her before. "This is my stop," I said. "Oh, you live here?" "No, I babysit here." "Ah." "Well, nice to meet you. What was your name?" "Joyce." "Have a great day, Joyce." Joyce ___ At the end of the check out line at the grocery store, a woman with bright purple ...