The Silent Hostess

Before Jane and I got to Fran’s front door, the aroma of tortilla soup met us. The salad table was decked in red and white because this was the Valentine luncheon. But the dessert table! Oh, my! It was so hard to make a choice, that many of us didn’t. To be sure we showed no partiality, we sampled each one!

At each of Fran’s luncheons, a small, furry hostess glides among the guests, pausing now and then as someone stoops to give her a pat or inquire about her health. Miss Kitty, Fran’s lovely orange cat is an important part of every get-together. She seems to enjoy visitors and quietly greets us, keeping an eye out to be sure everyone is having a nice time. Sometimes I wonder what this silent little hostess thinks of us noisy women who invade her domain from time to time.

A chilly wind blew outside, but inside Fran’s house, warm conversation flowed, covering a wide range of subjects. Spring flowers and antique teapots and salt and pepper shakers adorned the table. I zeroed in on the valentines scattered here and there. Many were more than a hundred years old. They were from an earlier, more innocent time and the verses reflected this. Today, as then, we need Valentine’s Day. We need a reminder that there is more to life than what we see. There is the value of friendship and the warmth of loving hearts on a cold, windy day in the middle of winter.