As time went by things went more smoothly. There were three of us working and trading our days off. One day as I came back to work, Ruby told me that her friend Joe, had been visiting. He always said a prayer to her before he left. Later that evening we got a call about him. He had gone home and rested on his bed and probably had a stroke and soon died. She couldn't get over it as they had just been visiting. Once she told me that he cared for her, and that a woman knows things like that.

We also heard from Marian often. She was very active in church business and kept Ruby posted on things. Marian used to say Ruby wouldn't go to sleep because she was afraid she might miss something. One night Doreen got a call about Marian having a heart attack while coming home from a meeting. Later that night she passed away. Doreen wanted me to tell Ruby about it, the next day. We had a hard time believing that she was gone as Marian looked healthy and was much younger than Ruby. Ruby kept saying, " What will happen to her husband Bill?"

Soon we went to two funerals quite close together. This was very hard for Ruby, especially loosing Marian. In a few weeks Bill's children came back from the East Coast, to help him move back with them. After his going away party at church, Ruby and I sat under a tree and she said, "They are all leaving and now I'm the last leaf on the tree." Of course she was right and for a long time we didn't go back to church. Then one day her favorite minister called and said he missed her and would she please come back to church. Next Sunday we were back again even though we still missed the others.

Soon it was Christmas again, and that meant time to go with her accountant friends to see the living Christmas tree program. For a few years she got a free pass for being the oldest person there. I was there too and it was a wonderful musical program. During intermission they asked people over 95 years to stand up. After about three minutes they got to 102 years and again she was the only one standing tall, in her green suit. That was a great musical, fun day, and made up for the bad ones. Afterwards she would be happily singing the songs again. That day she didn't mind being the last leaf on the tree. .

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Miss Muriel