They sat on the sofa, side by side, holding hands.

“I miss you”, she said.

“I miss you too”, she answered. Their heads bowed together, as the tears ran down the two woman’s faces. “We have to find a way to be together more”, whispered the middle-aged woman.

“Yes”, replied the elder woman, “We must find a way”.

The sun had set and the room where they had been sitting took on an amber hue and was slowly turning dark. Neither of them reached to turn on a lamp. A heaviness filled the room that seemed to suck out all the air. The middle-aged woman fought to keep from falling apart and quickly changed the subject. “Would you like coffee?”

“Yes, please, let’s have coffee!” 

She stood up and smiled as she took on a cheery tone, ” Shall I make it?

” No,mother, you sit and relax, I’ll make it.” And she went to the kitchen.

Once there, she wiped her eyes and tried not to think of what was running through her mind. These were precious moments. There was no telling just how many of them there would be between them. The idea of losing her was beyond the capacity of her heart and unfathomable to her mind. And yet time is a virtual enemy. It moves against our will and swallows up whole moments right before our eyes. She realized that as she looked down and saw her hands. The youthful skin had gone and she saw the appearance of her mother’s hands. The hands that had held her, wiped away her tears, washed her clothes, made her meals, sewed on her buttons, combed her hair, signed her report cards, clapped at her accomplishments and scolded her when she needed scolding. Those hands now replicated at the end of her arms. Tears dropped onto them hitting the sun spots. No, there was no erasing time. And so she resolved to make the most of the time that lay before them, hoping it would be many more years filled with good times and treasured hours that would take her as far as time would allow them to go together.

“Coffee ready?” The elder woman called from the living room.

” In a minute,” her voice sang through a smile.

And the elder woman had too been alone in her thoughts. About the little girl who had grown into a young woman and now her best friend and her older years, courageous and strong, someone she loved with all her heart more than all others on earth, her pride and joy, her confidant and companion through her widowhood and lonely hours. She did not want to waste the time they had together with melancholy conversation. So she smiled the smile that lit her face with beauty and filled her tone of voice with charm. They spoke of happy memories and made plans to be together again soon, but the daughter saw that her mother was growing tired and said it was time for her to go before she wore herself out. She helped her on with her coat and kissed her cheek as she hugged her in a long embrace. And as her husband drove her mother home, the woman wept silent tears on account of how fortunate she was to have such an exceptional woman as a mother that everyone loved but no one as much as she.