Goodbye Evie

 

   I didn't recognize the name on the caller ID so I didn't pick up the call. The caller left a message. I looked at it. It was Evie's delighter. I called her back right away. I was pretty sure I knew what this call was about. Ever since Covid started I had called Evie once a week. The past few months I had called her on Thursday. That way I would remember to call her and not get sidetracked by other things. When I talked to her last week she sounded really bad, much sicker than I had ever heard her. She wasn't even out of bed yet. We spoke briefly and I told her I'd talk to her next week. 

   I dialed the number and the daughter answered. She wanted to let me know that her mother had passed away the day before yesterday. It was the news I was expecting. Evie had said last week that she knew why she was so sick. She said her body was shutting down. She knew. 

   I honestly had not thought that Evie would stay alive as long as she had. She'd fallen a bit over a year ago. She's been in the hospital for several weeks as she had extensive bleeding. Fortunately she was able to go home, but she never really got better. It became harder to do things and she tired easily. The isolation of Covid was hard. She got too tired to go out to lunch as she liked to do, but she enjoyed getting takeout delivered to her and inviting us to eat with her. Now that was even taken away from her. 

   We enjoyed our once a week phone calls. Sometimes we'd talk for up to an hour or more just chatting about this and that. She'd ask me questions about her medicines sometimes. I'd talk to her about all sorts of things.

  Our friendship started in a strange way. She was a customer of mine in the pharmacy. We'd talk when she and her husband would come in to pick up their medications. Once her husband died she come in by herself. Once she asked me if I would go out to lunch with her. I was curious so I agreed. 

  We met at Applebee's close to my house. She had brought something with her, a teapot. It was a teapot that her husband had brought back from Asia where he served during the war.  She wanted me to have  it as a thank you for all that I have done for her. I was nervous about accepting it, but I did as I sensed it was something she really wanted me to have. 

   It was the start of a lovely friendship. When we would take missionaries out to eat at a local Italian restaurant, we would bring Evie with us. She didn't get out of the house much and I thought she'd enjoy meeting new people. 

   Eventually we started mailing her prescriptions to her. I would always include a drawing in her package. Once one of the more artistically gifted technicians drew something. Evie taped it to her refrigerator door. I'm sure it is still there.

   Evie loved eating out. Her favourite places were Asian buffet restaurants. I remember the first time we went to one she piled her plate with sushi. I was surprised. I never thought she'd be a fan of sushi. She would go back for a couple more helpings. We ate at other places too. There was a steak restaurant that she liked a lot. She knew the owner and many of the waitresses. There were other places she liked too and sometimes we would go to them. When she said a restaurant was bad, I stayed away. She had good taste. 

   The past couple years she started giving me things. There were teacups, hats and a few articles of clothing. I took the clothing to Goodwill. I kept the cups. I had a feeling she wanted to get rid of things. She wanted me to have a few tokens to remember her by. She gave me a lovely set of yellow teacups. I keep them in my china cabinet. 

   One thing I will always remember about her is how much she loved me. I wasn't a member of her family, but I always felt that she thought of me as another daughter. The feeling was certainly returned. I referred to her as my "Oma", the German word for grandma. When I turned 50, I invited her to my birthday lunch. She was well enough to attend and we all had a wonderful time.

   She was over 90 years old when she died. Ninety years is a good run especially when her health was pretty good for most of those years. I know that she is at peace, no longer in pain and reunited with the ones that she loves. I'll miss her........