How Did You Know Her?

How Did You Know Her?

“I was staying at our neighbor’s house overnight because my parents were away. I was trying to go to sleep.

“We need to be out of town for Daddy’s work. Honey,” that’s what Mom said, “You will be sleeping in Mrs. Grant’s spare room.”

Mrs. Grant, lived next door, I didn’t know her very well. She was old, and I was pretty young, not even in school yet. She would wave at me when I was outside playing, but we had never talked much. She talked with my mother a lot, grown-up stuff.

I wasn’t sure what a spare room was, but it turned out to be just a bedroom, except with an ironing board and extra boxes in it. Mrs. Grant was nice but she had obviously never had any kids. She gave me Cream of Wheat cereal for supper with strawberry ice cream on it. It was really good actually. But then she put me to bed at six o’clock. It’s still light out at six o’clock. How can you go to sleep if it’s still light out?

Plus, the blanket she gave me was silky, and big, and fluffy and every time I pulled it up, it slid. Once all the way onto the floor. I was getting tired, and a little bit upset, but still not sleepy.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Susan?” a quiet voice had called, “are you still awake?”

“Yes,” I called back.

“I don’t know very much about kids, but I do know about movies. If you’re not asleep, do you want to watch Alice in Wonderland with me?”

I said yes!

And that’s how Mrs. Grant became one of my best friends. We were friends for more than eight years. Right until she went to Heaven.”