Categories: friends
Date: 12 October 2009 22:18:12
...that calls my lodgers on to new things. It is almost incredibly already two years since the Lödgerin handed back her front door keys to the rose-covered cottage.
On Sunday evening, Tutti Frutti did the same thing and set off for the next chapter in his life. He, however, has not gone to live in Germany but the next town. As he left yesterday, I said that if his situation brought him back to the vicinity of these here hills, he would be welcome to lodge again. I also said that I don't always extend this invitation to all my lodgers (!).
This morning I was sitting at my desk reflecting on the time he had spent here (instead of translating a website on packaging.... I think you can imagine why the mind might wander for a moment or two...).
Although TF had lived here only a few weeks I was thinking about the positives he had contributed to life in the humble abode; how nice it was to hear a cheery hello as he came in at the end of his working day, the cup of tea he would bring to help me bash on until the end of mine, his happily adding extra items to his list to save me the bother of going to do my shopping by bus, the way he had fixed the garden table and put a new bolt on the back garden gate.
TF had also been suffering from a mighty cold in the past few days and as I sneezed again, I wondered if he had passed on the germs.... he had certainly left a lingering smell of Olbas Oil steam remedy which was still drifting around in the kitchen...
A few moments later there was a thunderous knock at the front door. I opened the window and looked out (I, ahem, was still in my pyjamas... I wasn't expecting visitors...) to see who was there. Less than 14 hours since he had left, he was back! Had he forgotten something? I asked.
No, as it was such a nice day, and he had the day off, he'd come back to the Ancient Roman City to fix the front gate which he'd noticed needed some attention.
What a star!