In Our Words Canadians Reading Together

When Old Friends Meet

CAROL CIRTWILL

On a recent trip to the Cabot Trail, John and Mary were having lunch in a small out-of-the-way restaurant. Mary saw two people over in the corner and thought they looked familiar. She started to tell John, when out of the corner of her eye she saw the two people coming over towards their table. John jumped up out of his chair and said, ‘Oh my! It’s Bill and Anna! We haven’t seen you in over thirty years!”

John said, “Where have you been? We lost touch with all our old friends, with all the moving around we did in the Armed Forces.” Bill said that he and Anna were retired and living in Baddeck. Bill asked where they were living. They told him, “We are camping around the countryside until we find a place we want to settle down in.” Bill said he and Anna had done the same thing, but were now settled down in a small house in Baddeck. They invited John and Mary to visit them on their way back.

Bill said, “Maybe you would like Baddeck so much that you might decide to become neighbours like we were thirty years ago!”

Who knows?