Had unexpected--but welcome--company for dinner last night. I had gone to various nurseries look at plants for the porch, then stopped at the bay to say hello to Pat. Several of his cronies were there, including "Old George" (there's a young George, too), his 81-year-old friend. While we were chatting, Pat asked what we were having for dinner and invited George to come over.
"Well, sure," I said, "We'd love to have you." Actually, I had defrosted a pork chop for Pat and was going to have Lean Cuisine myself, but I revised the menu and stopped to get chicken for all of us instead. Bought a cut-up one, breaded and bake it, put together a fruit salad, popped potatoes in the oven, and nuked a box of peas.
George arrived promptly at 5:30 and proved to be such a nice guest. He nibbled on the bowl of "Goldfish" I had on the table, and seemed to really love the meal, actually a pretty mundane one. He had two pieces of chicken, the biggest potato (at our urging), and plenty of the side dishes. Poor guy, he kept saying he doesn't get meals like this anymore, it's delicious, well, yes, I'll take a little more fruit salad--as hostess, I was delighted!
Barb D. had made a wonderful lemon/whipped cream dessert for the Memorial Day wingding and Frank brought us over a generous portion after the party. I cut it in bars and served it for dessert. George ate two large ones and loved it, so I sent three more pieces home with him to his fervent thanks.
George is a big talker, and he entertained us with stories of his boyhood on the farm in Mount Holly, how he was drafted during WW II, but then the war ended, and how he met his wife. Poor guy, she died a year ago after--get this--sixty-four years of marriage! He kept saying how much he misses her and how lonely he is. They never had children and apparently, did everything together. For 51 years, they lived in the mobile home he's still in; it's 12 feet wide and 60 feet long, and is on Green Street, just a half-mile or so from the docks. He had a boat and said he and his wife used to go out in it--crabbing or clamming--almost every warm day. George has outlived his five siblings, and now has few relatives. He has dinner at his sister-in-law's in Pemberton every Friday, but aside from that, does little but hang out at the bay with Pat and the other regulars. We'll invite him over again soon.
Early in the day, I got a call from Betty, now a Nana four times over, and we had a good long chat. Little Dexter and his Mommy were due home (they keep them for only 48 hours) and Betty said she'd stay at Steve and Robyn's another night or else go home that day. Can't wait to see pictures of precious new baby!