Enough

Next door to our house is a retirement home and in the time I've lived here I have met a few of the old people living there.
I see them walk by to the coffee shop down the road, A few of them trick or treated at our house last Hallows Eve and since we have been landscaping the front garden many have stopped to chat. I don't know any of there names but I know them by the smiles they give, the advice on cedar trees, or the image of a 80+ year old woman in a pumpkin suit that shall forever be ingrained in my mind.

The person who intrigues me most though is the grey haired lady who sits at the bus stop just to the right of my house. The first time I saw her was the day a large big dog chased our puppy Sage right out of the dog park one block from our house. Sage ran for home and nothing I screamed in my frantic voice could stop him.
I ran as fast as I could from the other end of the park where we were standing when the black dog started to chase him. I didn't stop until I was able to bury my hands in Sages soft puppy fur.

Sages journey took him out of the park, across the road and to the bus stop where he forgot the scary black dog in exchange for a pat from the old lady sitting on the bench. I stammered an apology to the lady as I took hold of Sage and then quickly retreated to the safety of our front room and vowed to never let my dog off leash again.

Since that day I have seen the same lady at the bus stop each and every day. She never gets on a bus and although I have seen her speaking to the odd person I don't think it is ever more than a casual exchange. I became quite interested in her daily or sometimes twice daily trip to the bus stop and I will admit that I now watch to see if she is there.
I walk past with the dogs if I have seen she is siting there and although I never speak to her I always smile and breath in the smell of a cigarette which is curious because I hate the smell of smoke normally and I have never actually seen her smoke but the smell is always there with her and some how it brings me comfort.

I have no family here except for my husband and so I have often fantasized about adopting some lovely elderly person to become a surrogate grandmother to the child I hope to have one day. So it should come of no surprise that the thought of chatting to the old lady at the bus stop has crossed my mind but somehow I can't help but think it would ruin the perfect give~&~ take we currently have.

I watch for her and give her a smile.
She nods and allows me to smell her phantom cigarette.
Somehow it is enough for us both...

Blessed be!