I Can'T Today

I saw the obituary on a Monday eve. Her services had been last week, our own little Neve. A woman I had run into many times before, She had asked me to lunch two or three times, maybe more. I always said, "I can't now, I am too busy today." Never knowing she needed me in every kind of way. She had seemed a bit overwhelmed last Monday morn. She'd ask me to lunch, but I had a dress that was torn. She had a great smile, she was at school a lot more than most. She was self-less, and seemed happy, always smiling, never a boast. I barely knew her, because she was fairly new in town. Her family had only been eight or nine years around. I called her husband to give him my sympathies and regret. "She always wanted a friend," he told me, "But they just never met." "She hanged herself in the garage, with a noose and a chair. "It was last Monday, after her shift at the school fair." I had no words of comfort I could give her husband or me. That was the day she'd invited me to coffee or out to tea. I told her I was too busy, and she had smiled sadly. I had no idea it would hit her this terribly badly. I felt anguish that I had spoken to Neve on her very last day. I wish I had taken some time, to help her dream, hope, or pray. I've learned my lesson, and I've learned it well, thanks to Neve O'Dine. The next time a newbie needs my attention, I will carve out some time.