The view from the front porch was rather serene. Little tendrils of greenery curled around the support columns of the porch, framing the front garden as though it were a finely painted picture.
The porch floor was painted a light gray, which went well with the off white siding of the two story house. You climbed down red brick steps to reach the path to the garden, which was surrounded by a small white picket fence. There were two trellises filled with an overgrowth of Rose of Shannon..which bloomed brilliantly in all it's glory.
You could just tell that the garden had been well tended at some point, but had fallen into a slight bit of neglect recently. In the front of the garden there was a magnificent dark pink Crepe Myrtle tree, with it's tan bark, gnarled and peeling in places...perfect for a child to climb in. A single paved road was off in the distance, oh say about fifty feet from the little garden.
There was a well worn metal rocking chair, complete with comfortable padding in place. A three person slider was against one side of the porch with some other chairs positioned here and there. Small tables for comfort were also arranged between the chairs. It was a place for comfort, you could feel comfort in your bones as you sat on that porch.
The old woman let the screen door close gently behind her. Her little dog Buffy followed closely at her heels. Lee quietly bent down and picked the little dog up placing him on the slider as she sat down in the rocker. All you could hear was the thump! thump! thump! of Buffy's short tail showing how excited he was to be sitting there with her. "Hush now, you calm down child" said Lee in her soft South Carolina accent.
The little dog had been her constant companion since the passing of her husband Nick. All of their children were grown with children of their own, they came back to visit when they could but she felt lonely. So little Buffy was a comfort for her.
Lee used to play agame with the dog and pretend to fall asleep in her chair, which upset Buffy to no end. He would go up on hind legs, standing upright against her legs, yipping at her to wake up! It seems the little dog was ultra protective of Lee. Her youngest son lived close by, so he would check on her and take her to the store for food. She depended on him a great deal and he was a very good son.
Lee would sit on the front porch and watch as life went by, she knew the routines of the people on her block like the back of her hand. She knew when the postman would arrive, when the school bus would pass, when the city run bus would be running by to go "down town".
The house that she had lived in for almost forty years sheltered her now, cocooning her grief, lending her the memories of what had occurred there, sharing the love.
Lee rocked silently back and forth, reaching ever so often for her glass of ice tea. She knew she was loved...but every time her children or grandchildren came to visit she did not want the visit to end. She would stand on that porch, in the early morning light, waving goodbye..saying "You 'all come back and see me ya hear!" It became a mantra for her, something that she did year in year out, as if her family would not return unless she performed her vocal rite.
Well, she would wait for them to come back after all, all she had was time. In the meantime, the porch was a real comfort for her...all the greenery that Nick had grown with such love. She knew that the plants responded to love, the beautiful Gardenia bush that had bloomed for years in the back yard had died almost in unison with Nick. Lee liked to think that the bush was blooming in heaven for Nick, that he took a little piece of his garden with him.
Lee just smiled to herself enjoying the tranquility of her porch with her little faithful companion.....rocking and daydreaming.
