The Departing
Had a bit of sad news . The lady who cleans my house and the houses of several friends is riddled with liver cancer. Today, around 11 a.m. they’ll start taking her off life support. She’s young although I don’t know her exact age. I never thought to ask because it never really mattered. She was this bright spot of joy who showed up every other Wednesday at 11:30 and worked in our home until 2:30. I never heard her say an unkind word. Now she’s gone.
I feel bad that I never asked her about her life. Where she was born. Where she lived. What she did before she found herself in a trailer in Blanco cleaning other people’s homes and house sitting. I know she has children, grandchildren, and a boyfriend. And her mother is still alive. But that’s only the outline of the story, and now it’s over. I had plenty of opportunities to talk to her in more detail but never made the effort.
I’d be willing to bet my late wife knew something of Sheri’s life because she was good at the casual banter of friendship. She would have known. She would have asked. She would have cared. But now the story is over. And all I know are the bits and pieces that came to me in casual conversation. And I wonder how I had this person come into my home for years to clean yet still I managed to never see her. It seems almost inhumane.