Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin. [http://www.kingsolver.com/home/index.asp|Barbara Kingsolver]

I feel as if people are put in my life for a reason so when they leave it’s always difficult for me to deal with. There’s a [For Sale] in front of Dawn and Yves’s former home. They lived in our [Urban sprawl|neighborhood] for years and we grew accustomed to watching Yves pull out of the drive to go on one of his beloved [fishing] trips just as we always looked forward to their annual [The Kentucky Derby is decadent and depraved|Kentucky Derby] party. Yves always complained that Dawn rigged the [Basic horse racing betting|betting] but I was there the day he won several hundred dollars. That was his way of teasing her about the party that celebrated the race and his [Birthdays get less significant as you get older|birthday].

Not long after their last party we were standing in the [The logical inclination to hate shoe stores: A Study in Progress By Avoiding the Unavoidable|shoe store]. It was just the girls and I. We were buying sandals because overnight my oldest daughter’s shoes didn’t fit and she needed something to wear to a [graduation party] we were going to. My husband was already there. He had gone straight from work and if I would have been smart I would have had him meet us at the shoe store instead of the party. My [See Jane. See Jane run.|youngest daughter] hadn’t had a [Warm sunlight and a short nap|nap], both girls were running around the store and I was in general hot, tired and ready to throw in the towel and forget the stupid [Barefoot Doctor|sandals] altogether.

We were on our way out when I heard a voice I recognized. Considering that Yves is [French] he has a very distinctive voice. It’s rather high-pitched. He’s a tenor and I would recognize his voice anywhere. The girls raced over to see Dawn and Yves. They were buying shoes for their son Christian and that’s when we found out that they were moving to [San Antonio Ghost Tracks|San Antonio]. Dawn doesn’t care for [The silence of a snow landscape|Wisconsin winters] and Yves had found a job that he hoped would be less work for more [Shoot for the stars|pay].

They offered to take us out to eat but I explained we were on our way to a party so we [When we two parted|parted] with promises to keep in touch. I was thinking about them on my [clearing your mind|walk] past their place. It’s been almost two years now but seeing their home for sale has brought back those [Memory|memories].

Thinking back it’s hard to say how long I stood there talking to [On leaving some friends at an early hour|Dawn and Yves] but by the time I rounded up the girls and found the park where the party was at people were taking things down and packing them up. The food had already been [What was left after the party|cleared]. It was now supper time and the girls were hungry.

Downtown [http://www.cityofdelafield.com/|Delafield] is pretty any time of the year but it’s especially so in summer. Proprietors open doors and set out [The Hundred Flowers Campaign|flowers]. It’s cute and quaint. A tourist’s [dream] that even the locals can appreciate. We passed [http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3723692866|The Blue Iris], a friend of mine owns and runs it with her mother as a partner. It’s a neat place to browse for [nice ways to fill the void|unique] gifts. I wanted to stop in to say hi but a meal was our first priority.

It was my daughter Jill who noticed the sign first. She told us it had a [J] on it, we looked up and by this time we had walked across town to [601 Milwaukee St. Delafield, WI 53018|Jessica’s Cafe]. It’s one of my favorite restaurants, a friend of mine works there and it had been a while since I had been there. There’s nothing that says you can’t bring children but they are more apt to appreciate [grilled cheese sandwich|grilled cheese sandwiches] than warm duck salad with champagne vinaigrette. We weren’t dressed for [Jessica's Cafe|Jessica’s] but that’s where we ended up because it was close, we were there and everyone was hungry.

During the meal there was the usual flurry of activity. [She wrote the great american napkin|Napkins] were dropped. Someone dropped a [keep out of reach of children|straw]. The server brought us a new one and I felt like everyone in there was staring at us and our children. One couple in particular seemed to have their eyes on us and by the end of the meal I was regretting not accepting the invitation from Dawn and Yves.

Eventually the meal ended. Jamie took the girls out while I paid the bill. I turned to follow them but a very elegantly dressed woman stopped me. She had the kind of [The Affair of the Queen's Necklace|jewelry] that I will never own but it wasn’t an affectation it was just her. Her husband stood just in back of her, they introduced themselves as Tom and Marlene and I could hardly believe it when they commented on how well our [Teach your children well|children] had behaved themselves during the meal.

My perception was that Jill and Jane had been loud, careless and disruptive but Tom and Marlene perceived things differently. They thought Jill and Jane had been a [Ladies' Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society|dainty] addition to the surroundings. Marlene especially was touched by the fact that at one point the two [sisters] had been sitting at the same barstool eagerly awaiting a glass with a [Two spoons for every sundae|straw] in it.

One of the first things I noticed about Marlene was her [Woman with a Pearl Necklace|necklace]. A crescent shaped sliver of moon held [The three sisters|three] small pearls. The moon was silver, the pearls were nestled protectively in the [moonbow|curved embrace] and it was a neat piece of jewelry but at odds with everything else she was wearing.

That should have been a clue but I have always been famous for putting my foot in my mouth so I asked her about it. My cousins are [triplets] and I wondered if perhaps the pearls in the necklace represented Marlene's children.

The moment the words left my mouth I wanted to call them back. Marlene was visibly shaken. I stepped back awkwardly and even the girls were uncomfortable in the tense [words are cheap, but silence is a steal|silence] that fell over our group.

The [Gold and Diamond Fields in South Africa|diamonds] on Marlene’s left hand [All that glitters is not gold|glittered] in the fading sunlight as she touched her [The Necklace|necklace]. I could see the [Shimmer over bridges like the river was a dream|shimmer] of tears in her eyes and I was inwardly raging at myself for being so thoughtless.

When she was more composed Marlene explained that her former [Girl with a Pearl Earring|daughter-in-law] had given her the [The Second Noble Truth of Buddhism|necklace] after her husband had passed away. His [coronary artery disease|heart] had given out and the [Triple Goddess|necklace] was a gift for Marlene in memory of all [Three is A Magic Number|three] of her sons. The living and the [Dear sons and daughters of hungry ghosts|dead].

I wasn’t sure if I was going to start crying or not. I apologized to both Tom and Marlene for being [I'm insensitive, and I don't know anything|insensitive]. They brushed my words aside. Marlene gave me a wobbly smile but the only thing I could do was stand there feeling horrible.

Once I started crying I didn’t feel like I could stop. Marlene put her [A hand-on-soft love song with no words spoken|hand] on my arm. Now she was crying so we walked down towards the [frog gigging|pond] to sit on one of the [The Magic Faraway Tree|benches]. Time passed slowly. She wanted to talk about her son and the [A Thousand Points of Light|necklace]. She said I was the first person who had ever asked if the [Things on which you can make a wish|necklace] had any significance and that was so surprising to me that I stopped crying. We chatted for a few more minutes before it was time to leave and I’ve never seen either Tom or Marlene again although I’ve been back to [Jessica’s Cafe] and the town of [http://www.townofdelafield.org/|Delafield] several times since.

The For Sale sign in Dawn and Yves’s front yard is blowing in the [jasmine|breeze] on my way back from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac_La_Belle,_Wisconsin|lake]. The sun is out but there is the faintest sliver of [How to watch the stars from a secluded island|moon] visible in the [Caught between sky and shadow|sky]. I wonder when Marlene and the [The Three Pearls|moon pearls] will meet up with her [Life is not so much about saying hello as it is about saying goodbye|son] again.

For Tom and Marlene, Dawn and Yves. Wherever you may be.

Marlene's moon pearls