Friends are Where You Find Them

When the doorbell of my Auburn, Washington home rang on the evening of July 3rd, I discovered a lovely young woman holding a gorgeous bouquet of daisies.

I gasped. “Is it really you?”  

She nodded. After a long separation, Suzi (Sajuthi Paul) from Oman and I were together at last.

* * *

Friends are where you find them. Several years ago, I was pruning rhododendrons on a sunny day. A beautiful, dark-haired young woman hesitated at the end of my driveway. I looked up, smiled, greeted her and began a lasting friendship. 

Suzi lived just around the corner with several other students and attended the college just up the street. I knew her landlord. Far from Oman, she found my modest home a refuge, and called me Granny Pearl (a term of respect).

We spent hours getting acquainted and bonding. She insisted on doing my dishes if any were in the sink when she came! Sometimes her visits over-lapped those with Anita Donihue, who soon became Granny Anita.

In 2020, Suzi prepared to go home and spend the summer with her family. It didn’t happen. COVID struck. Oman airports were closed. Two more years passed before Suzi could go to her country (in Jan. 2022).

I cried when she left. Ever since then, we have faced tough times, including sickness, but kept in touch by email. Our friendship endured, but I wondered if I would ever see her again.

* * * 

Now Suzi stood at my door, wearing the same unforgettable smile that originally captured my admiration. She has graduated from college. Her brief visit would end the next day. We made the most of our two hours together.

I don’t know when or if we will meet again in person, but I have been richly blessed since that sunny day at the end of my driveway when God sent a new friend into my life.

Suzi decked me out in her cap and honor cord; we shared cherished memories and created new ones.