(continued)
Elsie’s room at Alterra was way in the back, and when the movers got
there, they were annoyed that they had to drag all the furniture through the
front door and long hallways to get to Elsie’s room. But they managed, and then it was time for me to settle up
with them. I am a coward and since
it was Elsie’s money, not mine, I gave them the twenty-percent tip.
Later we discovered a couple pieces of Elsie’s bedroom set were scratched. She’d had this furniture for thirty years and it had been in perfect condition until I got charge of it. Guilt, guilt, guilt.
Blixy met us after work to help Elsie unpack and get settled
in. Dad would hang around and then
take off and come back again.
“Can I do something to help?” he asked.
“You know,” said Elsie after rummaging through her purse and
some boxes, “I can’t find that gift the Women’s Guild gave me.”
“It will turn up somewhere,” Blixy said.
“I hardly even looked at it,” said Elsie. “I hope you didn’t put it in the box
for the Church bazaar,” she said to me.
“I’d be mortified if they thought I would do that.”
“It’s probably here,” I said. “But if it’s not, they’ll understand. You can blame it on me.”
“I will.”
That’s what happens when you pack and move in three days—some things get screwed up.
(to be continued)


