My Oldest Friend

When I met Elizabeth, I knew that we would become fast friends because she made me laugh.

In 1980, she was hired as my replacement at the Sewickley Public Library when I resigned to become the junior high school librarian.

Shortly after she began, I stopped by to introduce myself. She smiled, shook my hand, looked at my feet, and said, “They don’t look that big!”

After we quit laughing, she told me of the constant refrain of “But Donna did it this way.”

And so began a relationship that soon included my daughters. We had a standing date for pizza and calzones on Friday night. After Elizabeth moved out of state, my daughters and I would travel to Virginia for Thanksgiving. We were family.

When the bad times came, Elizabeth responded to my call for help with love. Without hesitation she abandoned her beach vacation to fly to Cleveland to be with me when my husband died. I don’t really know how I would have coped without her sarcastic humor and her love.

Since her move to Florida, we had communicated sporadically. When my Sweetie and I decided to go on the Prairie Home Companion cruise out of Tampa, I knew that I wanted to add a side trip to Ocala.

Would it be awkward after not seeing each other for a few years? No, not at all. I feel as if we have just filled in the blanks and are now back in each other’s story.