friendship

I could tell by the tone of her voice, soft and a little sad..
       something was not right
   Are you OK?    Well, not really.
What is wrong?   ( I am usually not so abrupt, but I was not thinking )
                            I can't say right now, I will later.

When we got home, there was a message from her, please call me.

And I did.

She began:

My friends were just here to tell me that they had gone to see their son and found him dead. On the kitchen floor. Maybe for 10 hours.  He was 51 years old.

We chatted for a few minutes, but I knew I should go to her and let her talk about it.

The little yellow vase with yellow daisies still looked fresh, so I grabbed it and was on my way.

She was surprised to see me. She knows that we are expecting house guests tomorrow. But at that moment, nothing else was more important to me, than to be there for her.

She told me details of the friends life.
  Somewhere the conversation changed and she was talking about the courtship of her husband.  She was laughing.
 We talked about other things for about an hour and then the family returned.
  She knew they were coming back and I wanted to stay and meet the daughter that I had never met.  Her name is Kathy.

 Very brief introductions. It was their turn to be with our friend.
  So, I started with my friend, very easy to hug. Next, a complete stranger,  Kathy, hugged her and told her I was sorry for her loss.  I felt a strong hug in return and then some tears.  A hug for the others, it seemed the right thing to do.  It was like I could share in their grief for a moment .
 My eyes were a little blurry.

We do not know what a day will bring forth.
Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
There is time for us to do what we  should do, and it is not always what we might like.