Afternoons on the Bench

Afternoons on the Bench
By Terry Burres

The Spring breeze softly brushed her cheek. A lovers touch on the face of the one who had been gone too long. Ruffling her hair it caressed her with the warmth of perfumed air. The gentleness of the breeze reminder her of past Springs with her tow haired boy and sweet smiling girl playing in a different yard as she kept a mother’s watch.

She sat on the bench.

The sun’s warmth colored her lined face with a glow of her youth. She smiled traveling to the times spent on slow Summer days. Playing with friends in childhood games. Sprawled on the grass as the sun filtered through tree branches. Days spent in dreams and activity.

She dreamed of her younger days on the bench.

The flowers that she didn’t have to bother with spread in a carpet at her feet. Violets in shades of purple, blue and white waited for little hands to bring a Spring gift for mom. Dandelions sparkled on the small lawn with tufts of sunshine. Bright buttery dots of sunny warmth that counted the days until they could take flight. She smiled at the garden that was her small front yard.

She sat surrounded with color on the bench.

The neighborhood kids run to her to gather smiles and see if she had filled her pocket with gum. Sometimes there were bubbles. Sometimes there were stories. Always there were hugs. Always there was time to talk and to listen. It was hard to tell who enjoyed the warmth of the friendship more, the kids or the surrogate nana. She laughed as they returned to their adventures up and down the sidewalk.

She waved from her seat on the bench.

The school bus stopped down the street and her grand daughter was home from her school. Her autistic angel who had to travel to a school miles away instead of walking from the school at the end of the block. Her angel’s daddy took her from the bus. As soon as her angel saw her nana sitting on the bench she smiled a huge hello smile. That smile sent a wave of warmth coursing through her that glowed much brighter then the sun.

She gathered memories on the bench.

The bench that set in the small front yard became her seat to watch the world that passed. She spent the Spring afternoons on the bench feeling the softness of the breezes and the sun’s warmth. She enjoyed the friendship of the kids on the block. She dreamed of other kids from long ago in play. She waited for a brief encounter with her angel.

She sat on the bench.