Thinking of Verlaine -- from London

I have been thinking about Verlaine all day.  Rebecca has called me a few times, and each conversation sparks old memories.

I would liked to have typed long notes about going to Verlaine's home, about loving the comfort of her front room that was just inside of the main door.

I also tried to imagine the dinner parties she must have had with her loved ones around her big dining room table.  I had always wanted a table that big.

Hers is the first house where I had seen an in door hot tub which could be seen from the family room and the kitchen.

I had other warm memories come back -- me studying the Christmas decorations she had put on the tree – really decorated because her grandchildren would be there at Xmas.

I was also thinking about Verlaine storing the marble Rebecca bought at auction with her first pay check.  That marble should have belonged to Verlaine -- for the cost of storage to Rebecca for all of those  years.,

One of my most pleasant memories of a day at her house was initiated by Verlaine  who had purchased many new outfits for Alex. Many. She brought them home to see which she should keep. Alex must have been seven months old. In this case, Verlaine must have shopped until she dropped. Steve didn't like any of the outfits.  To give him his due, he was a man ahead of his time -- wanting father-friendly outfits and none of the ones selected were that.

We acknowledged that they had to go back.

Still, we went in the other room and tried everyone of the outfits Verlaine had picked out, put them on the baby, came out and showed how cute he was in them, begged Steve if we just couldn't keep this one or that one.

Nope.  Not father-friendly.  Too many buttons, too hard to get over the baby's head, to hard to have an easy diaper change.

Little Lord Fauntleroy
Image: Freddie Bartholomew's Website

When we were finished that afternoon, we put the clothes back in their packages. Poor Alex, dressed and undressed so many times that day.

Who else was there that day?  I can remember one of the outfits had a "little Lord Fauntleroy"  look .. for a seven month old baby.

OK.

Maybe that one outfit should have gone back.

Arta