The Card

By Laura Evans
Picayune MS

       

         It wasn't that Evie Adams was expecting mail. She had given up on that long ago but the habit of waiting for something had become part of her. Now each morning on her front porch she watched from behind the overgrown shrubs that hid her from view as the postman came down the street.

        "Good morning, Miss Evie," the postman called as he approached her mailbox. She never answered but he always said good morning just the same because he knew she was there. "Brought you something this morning, Miss Evie."

        Evie Adams waited until the postman had walked on down the street before she stood and walked down the steps to the mailbox at the junction of her walkway and the street. She reached in and brought out a square envelope, then stood holding it as if she didn't know what to do with it. Rosella Larkin. That was the name on the outside. Why that must be Albert and Anita's daughter. Evie walked slowly back to the house from the mailbox, enjoying the excitement of someone sending her a card. Inside the house she gave the envelope one last examination before opening it and slowly pulling out a Hallmark card.

 

        On the front of the card were two longhaired Labrador Retrievers, one a golden brown with long sad eyes, the other a mottled black and white Retriever, also with sad brown eyes, leaning his head lovingly against that of the golden brown retriever. They were such a sad-looking pair they made Evie laugh. As she opened the card, she saw at once that it was one of those blank-inside cards that required the sender to write his own message. And Rosella Larkin had done just that.

        "Dear Miss Evie," she had written, "If you are ever lonely and want a young person to talk to, I am here for you. I love you. Rosella Larkin."

          Evie smiled at the simplicity of the words, touched by their sweetness and naiveté. How charming. Albert and Anita Larkin's daughter must be eleven or twelve, Evie decided. Still smiling at the picture of the two Retrievers, Evie opened the card out once more and balanced it on the mantelpiece where she could see it as she walked past. She wondered if Rosella had earned the money herself to buy the card. She decided, because it pleased her to do so, that she had. She also knew, because it was such a lovely, thoughtful gesture, that Rosella was a lovely, thoughtful person. How could she be otherwise? And she was observant, Rosella was. Didn't she know who she, Evie Adams, was? Rosella had noticed her. She was sensitive to other people’s feelings. And now she was reaching out to her. She could not disappoint the child.

        And so Miss Evie went to the card shop to get a nice thank-you card for Rosella. She took a long time choosing, not that there were so many thank-you cards to choose from but because it made Evie feel good to be choosing a card to send to someone. She took so long in fact, that the sales lady approached to ask if she needed help. And that gave Evie a chance to tell the sales lady about the card from Rosella and the message she had written.

        "Oh! How sweet!" the sales lady purred.

        "Yes." Evie said. "Children are so tenderhearted, you know. They speak from the heart, children do, so unspoiled and pure."

        When she got home she took a long time composing her note to Rosella, inviting her to come for a visit. She wanted it to be just right. When she finished it, she took it to the post office herself.

        Every morning after that, as she sat on her front porch waiting for the postman she planned the visit. She would bake cookies and make lemonade... or maybe just get some cokes. What would they talk about, she wondered. School affairs. She would ask Rosella about school, what she was studying, what were the latest fashions for her age group, what was all the rage… And Rosella would ask her about how things were when she was young. Oh, they would have a great time!

        "Good morning, Miss Evie!" the postman called as he approached the mailbox. "Brought you something today. You're getting to be a regular customer, Miss Evie."

        Evie Adams didn't wait for the postman to walk on down the street this time. She stood and hurried down the steps to the mailbox. She reached in and brought out a letter.
        There it was on the envelope. Rosella Larkin. The name was no longer strange to her. It was a letter from a friend. She went inside to open it, noting that it was just a plain white envelope. But it didn't matter that it wasn't a Hallmark.

        She opened the envelope slowly, carefully, like a child stretching out the anticipation of a favorite candy before taking a bite. And then she began to read.

 

Dear Miss Evie,
          I didn't think you'd take my card for real. It was because of Sunday School. Miss Gloria makes us do a good deed each week. We are sunshine girls. She said I should send you a card. It would make you feel good. I could report my good deed to the class. Mama said old folks like to talk. That's why I put in about talk. Miss Gloria said to put in I love you. I can't visit you. I have a lot of things to do.

                                                          Rosella Larkin

        Miss Evie sat motionless, staring at the lined sheet of paper with writing on it but seeing nothing. After a while she sighed, folded the sheet and returned it to its envelope. Rising, she stepped to the mantel and picked up the card with the doleful Labrador Retrievers. She held it in her hand a moment, smiling, and then she tucked it into its envelope. She looked around, then moved to the wastebasket and dropped them into it.

 

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