“Oh,
yes indeed,” Bertha replied. “That was the day we
had wandered too far into the woods and had lost our way temporarily.
She would have done well to have shared with us.”
“What do you think,” Aggie grinned impishly, “if
we went back there today, would she still be up in that tree barking
like a dog?”
Bertha was laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.
“And remember once when we were young, Terrence Smott asked
you to the town dance? You had agreed to go but had misgivings
about it, knowing his reputation.”
“Indeed,” Bertha tittered. “He was truly a scamp
in gentleman’s clothing. Why, we hadn’t even reached
the dance before he was grabbing and feeling all over me.”
“Remember what you did?”
The picture then came to Bertha of the expression on the face
of young Terrence Smott as his features began to change into those
of a young boar. Additional transformation followed and produced
a grayish-black colored body with coarse bristly hair and short
stubby little legs.
“Don’t you wonder,” Aggie giggled.“what
the people in the town thought when they found that little boar
wandering around with Terrence’s clothes on?”
“You warned me,” Bertha said. “You said he would
be a bore, but you never told me what kind.”
Anecdote after anecdote followed, the two of them doubled over
with laughter, their sides aching with the joy of their memories.
“I do think,” Aggie said after a while, “that
we had better start thinking about getting some rest. Tomorrow
is the thirtieth and you know what comes after that?”
“True,” Bertha sighed. “The old saying has never
been more apropos. ”Time flies when you’re having
someone.”
“The saying goes,” Aggie scolded. “Time flies
when you’re having fun, not having someone, you silly goose.”
Holding hands as they did when youngsters, Aggie and Bertha knelt
at their bedside and chanted prayers to their Lord and Master,
thanking Him for all the blessings He had bestowed upon them through
their long lives. Bertha made a special point of thanking Him
for giving her Aggie as a friend and Aggie in turn made a special
effort to thank Him for bringing Bertha to her side. She emphasized
the difficulty she would have had without her.
“Good night, Aggie,” Bertha said as she finished.
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