As you know, I'd gone up to New Topia for a week-long mayor's conference. There I was, stuck in the conference rooms at the Ain't It Suites, surrounded mostly by chubby men over fifty wearing t00-tight white button down shirts and tacky ties. I don't understand all those ties for special occasions and sporting teams and cartoons. I suppose men think these special ties are good for a laugh. It makes it all the worse when one of them walks up to you with a big food or coffee stain dried up amongst the tie's decoration.
Well, the meetings were boring, as you can guess, but I dreamed my way through them with thoughts of the girls up in the Big Apple. Mind you there were those meetings I had to pay attention to since I was on the speaking panel. My favorite panels were City Beautification and Planting for the Community. To a certain extent, the panels went hand in hand. I got a great deal of information from Meemaw and Caliope Rose regarding horticultural affairs. They have the greenest thumbs in five counties.
The final panel of the week concerned city budgets and how to make them work. I was up and adam early that day to be fully awake for this meeting. Our recently deceased mayor hadn't found a great deal of success in balancing budgets, though he was a kind kind man. I ran to that meeting and got a front row seat, set up two tape recorders and had my fingers flying on my laptop. I wanted to make sure d'Oasis continued to exist as a fine example of community.
I was so concentrated on paying attention at the final panel, that I'd completely forgotten my excitement about getting back home. I packed up my gadgets as quickly as I could, ran to my room and grabbed my suitcase (thankfully, they had checkout on the television set so I didn't have to stop at the front desk on the way out). Even the rain coming down when I stepped outside couldn't dampen my spirits about getting back to d'Oasis. Hehehe...did you just catch the pun I put into writing? I had to stop and mention it because I was giggling out loud.
The girls had arrived back in d'Oasis the day before and I was anxious to get back and hear the stories from New York City. I had to drive slowly because of the rain but I didn't mind and sang along with the radio at the top of my lungs. Isn't it crazy how, sometimes, the perfect songs come on the radio to fit the spirit you're in?
The previous night, I'd received a call from Meemaw. The girls had gotten back to d'Oasis at 9:00 in the evening and she told me she'd made a beeline to the phone to ring me up at the Ain't It Suites. We talked a little bit about their trip. Meemaw knew I was dying to hear all the news, but said it would be better to get caught up in a group format. I knew she was right and we agreed to meet at her house at 7:00 pm the next night. Meems would get it all coordinated with Teensy and Effie.
My heart gave a little shout when I passed the "Welcome to d'Oasis" sign. The city sign is followed closely by another sign constructed by last year's senior class from d'Oasis High School. It reads "This Place is d'Oasis." I just love the spirit of the sign including the rhyme. Only three more miles to Meemaw's house.
As I pulled onto Doolittle Lane, I could already see Meemaw's house - the porch light on and a glow behind the curtains in the living room. I parked right behind Effie's prize Nova and jumped out of my car. Up the stairs I went and before I could even reach for the doorbell, "Just come on in, Pegs!!" yelled Meemaw. I knew the girls must've been as excited as I was.
I entered quickly, dropped my purse on the chair inside the archway to Meems's living room and ran across to give my oldest and dearest friend a big hug. As Meemaw and I were hugging and giggling with "Hey Pegsss!" and "Hey Meems!," Teensy came in from the kitchen with a big glass of sweet iced tea. I pulled her to me after she set her tea on a coaster and gave her a big squeeze.
"Oh, Peggy...so good to see you," said Teensy. "Hahaha...Peggy, careful you're going to break me."
I giggled, too. "Oh, Teensy...so good to see you!" I finally let her go and looked around for Effie. "Well, where's Effie?"
"She'll be right out, Peggy. Just take a seat. She's in the loo," replied Meemaw as she patted the seat next to her on the sofa.
"Oh...okay," and I sat next to my nearest and dearest friend.
"That tea's for you, Peggy. You must be thirsty after your drive from New Topia," said Teensy, handing me the large, cool glass.
"Thank you so much, Teensy!" I took a long sip and my toes curled as that cool sweet tea spread through my insides.
I had just place the glass back on the coaster when, "Pegggggyyyyy! Heyyyy!" came Effie's excited voice from the hallway. I jumped to my feet just as Effie rounded the corner.
"Oh!!" came out of my mouth before I could stop it. I had to follow it with "....it is sooooo good to see you! Welcome home!" Evidently, Effie'd found a new style during her four days in the Big Apple. She twirled in front of me showing off her new extensions (these matched her own hair), her new flowy prairie skirt and a simple girly top to match. She turned back to face me and blinked her pretty blue eyes at me - eyes that were now completely outlined in black.
I gave Effie a squeeze and heard a little giggle come out of Teensy. "Me too, Teensy, me too," I said, "I'm so excited you're all home. I think if I'd been here in d'Oasis while you were gone, I wouldn't have known what to do with myself. Have a seat, Effie. Y'all have a lot to catch me up on." As Effie and I parted I did admit to myself that there was a new glimmer in Effie's spirit with the new style.
"Our last full day in New York City, Pegs, we decided to do our own exploring. As you might be able to tell from Effie, she found her way down to the Lower East side of Manhattan. She met us that night, for dinner, in her new Bohemian Regalia. But you have to admit it suits her well," explained Meemaw with a wink toward Effie.
"Where's my sisterrrrrr?" came a voice from the front door.
"Shaquanda!!!" I had to jump up to greet the official New York guide.
"Sorry I'm late. I got stuck at the martinizing doing some business," said Shaquanda.
"Have a seat Shaquanda and I'll run and get you some iced tea," offered Teensy. I know I've told you she's about the sweetest soul around.
"Thank you, Teensy," replied Shaquanda.
After Teensy returned and we all found our seats, I looked at the girls and said, "Okay, one at at a time, tell me one of your favorite things about New York City."
For once, Meemaw was itching to go first. I hadn't seen her this excited since the day she got married. Oh, Meems had done some traveling but never as far as New York City. And, well, it IS New York City after all. "Well, we did see a couple of those Broadway shows. You know there's one right in the lobby of the hotel we stayed in? But I'd have to say my favorite moment was standing at the base of the Statue of Liberty and looking up at that majestic symbol of freedom." Her eyes gazed upward as she spoke of the moment. I just knew she would love visiting Lady Liberty. "I think I stood at the bottom of the statue and looked into the eyes of that woman for half an hour. I got a little misty and had to pull out my hanky to dab my eyes. All of a sudden I was one determined woman and climbed every step to the observation area. Oh, Peggy, the whole time I was wishing you were there with me." She looked at me with a big smile.
"Oh, I was Meems. I was," and I patted her hand.
"Me next, Peggy, me next," gasped Teensy. I love to see that child excited. She had a gleam in her eye. "Peggy, did you know that realty company over in New Topia - Century 21 - also sells clothing in New York? Well, I was on my shopping day and saw just a whole lot of people walking into a Century 21 and had to investigate. I walked through the doors and was surrounded by carousels of clothing for sale. And the clothes weren't that expensive. I think I spent all the money I took with me in that store. I practically have a whole new wardrobe." She was breathless with the memory. "Oh, what an adventure...what an adventure!"
"I do love the ensemble your sporting this evening, Teensy," I said.
"Thank you so much, Pegs," her smile widened.
Effie's sing song voice followed, "Come on, babe, why don't we paint the town....and all that jazz! Peggy! Peggy! We saw the most amazing show! It was a little dark and also comical. The cast was full of beautiful people wearing clothes that didn't leave much to the imagination. And they even had a man dressed as a woman, but you didn't even really know until toward the end of the show! It was so exciting. Meemaw got a little embarrassed at the lack of clothing, but I just know she loved it as much as I did!!" I almost couldn't believe my ears. I had imagined, correctly, all my friends' favorite things about New York City.
"Well, these gals kind of wore me out, sister," chimed in Shaquanda. We all laughed. "We did have the best time and I want to thank you for thinking of me to go along with them. I think one of my favorite moments was Meemaw's first bite into a bagel," more laughter. "I knew she thought I'd brought her a doughnut. Her palate wasn't ready for what she tasted, but then we couldn't go a morning without a bagel for Meemaw."
"I brought some home with me in my carry-on, Pegs," giggled Meemaw.
After that, the conversation turned into a free-for-all amongst the girls. I heard all about their experiences with the subway. They even took the bus once. They checked out Central Park, Lincoln Center, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Time's Square and even "ground zero." There was quite a lot of running around for four days. Effie even ended up in Harlem on her lone exploration day and ended up having the best time at a little jazz club she came across. The stories poured on and on and we laughed into the wee hours of the morning.
I realized how much I truly missed all of them - even if it was only for a few days. And I was sooo happy they were able to have such an exciting experience. I remembered my first trip to New York City as we talked and knew exactly how their souls felt stepping into that different world. They all agreed they were happy to be home, though. We talked so long, we decided to have a gal's sleepover. I believe I didn't go to sleep until around 3:30 am, but my heart was happy and I had a restful sleep with a smile on my face.
Until tomorrow...don't be tacky...Peggy!
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