Occasionally you'll meet a person who isn't quite like any other person you've met before. No matter what you hear about them beforehand nothing prepares you. The encounter might be as short as an hour, but they have such a flamboyant personality that in those sixty minutes you learn so much about them.
The first thing she does is give everyone a big hug, which is expected based on what you've heard. From there you have no idea where this meeting will head. But after a simple lunch date you'll understand that what they say is true. She's one of a kind. If you talk to her a little and listen a lot, you'll find her to be humorous and serious, delightful and hard to forget. There are a few things made immediately obvious to you after lunch is over.
You can tell she loves her kids, is proud of them, and would do anything for them.
You sense she's spiritual because she mentions church and her bible study.
You see she cares about her figure (even though she's thin) because she talks about working out and eats a salad for lunch.
You get the feeling she has a young soul by the fullness of her voice and the confidence with which she speaks.
She jokes around a lot, but one thing she says is especially serious.
She mentions a lost child. A life that ended before it ever got to flourish. And you can see her face change as a look of sadness takes over. But then she mentions a different child. A girl she got to watch grow. Not her own, per se, but one she would grow to love as if she was. A beautiful, dark-haired girl that reminded her of what her daughter would have or could have been.
And just like that her smile is back.
And she's joking.
And she's asking questions.
About you and about the girl she watched grow up.
And since she's smiling you smile too. And you laugh. And you answer as best you can.
And then your lunch ends. And so does your visit to Virginia.
But it was a memorable one.
NP: The Girl- City and Colour
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