Yesterday was a reunion of sorts. My dear friend, Suzette, came out of a half decade of hiding and graced me with her presence! She and her husband Mats came to the Donnavilla on Sunday and had lunch with us. Suzette warned me on the phone that I wouldn’t recognize her– she had gotten gray and pudgy and somehow lost her chin since it could no longer be found on her face. It certainly is sad when friends age terribly but Suzette wasn’t one of those casualties- she looked fine.

I served a terrific meal, one that was both easy and tasty! Appetizers consisted of grapes, mini pitas and hummus for dipping. Although I am capable of making hummus, this time I purchased it ready made. Lunch was salad topped with chicken, grape tomatoes, feta, olives and my homemade salad dressing. I even served dessert! It was sliced strawberries with cool whip. Food preparation and service went smoothly. Certainly the smoothness was owed to Rob who helped me the entire time.

Although it had been years since I last saw Suzette we seemed to resume right where we had left off– provided the last time I saw her we got along swimmingly. I can’t rightly remember what happened the last time we saw each other and why she fell off the earth. I very much liked her new husband Mats especially because he took our silly questions in stride– most of which consisted of references to Ikea, Bjorn Borg and how in the world was Alfred Nobel able to amass a fortune under Swedish tax laws? Did I mention Mats is Swedish?

After lunch we adjourned to the parlor where Robert brought up a subject he tends to bring up when we are with friends. I will usually mention what a wonderful musician he is and without fail Robert mentions how he bought me a guitar which I never touch. This of course is not true since I do take it out of its bag to lightly stroke its neck and run my fingers along its body. The real truth is I never practice and I have forgotten the one chord that Rob taught me. I usually just smile when the subject is brought up and then I try to introduce a new subject such as Calvinist theology. The thing is, as much as Rob insists that I told him I wanted to learn how to play the guitar, I only remember saying I wish I could play the guitar. There’s a big difference there– one means practicing, the other is just a deluded wish that I might wake up one day with the gift to strum. Regardless, I realized that Rob really wants me to play the guitar and the more I think about it, practicing isn’t such a bad thing. Heck, it might be fun! And so I am throwing my cap into the musical ring. I will try to learn to play the guitar. This time I will actually put effort into it. I just hope Rob will work with me.