Afternoons with Mrs. Beasley
“I just love mums,” said Mrs. Beasley as she watered
the flowers in her apartment window box. Suzanne sat in the kitchen, where she
was eating a fat slice of white bread with raspberry jam. “My thumbs
aren’t the greenest, but even I can keep mums happy,” Mrs. Beasley chuckled.
Suzanne loved her afternoons at Mrs. Beasley’s. She always
learned something new. From the first time they met, Mrs. Beasley told Suzanne
that she shuns the idea of talking to children as if they aren’t
intelligent. That made Suzanne smile.
“Now, Suzanne, here’s a lesson,” Mrs. Beasley began.
“The word ‘mum’ is actually short for a much longer word: chrysanthemum! But I
suppose ‘chrysanthemum’ is too hard to say, so they’re more commonly
called mums.” Suzanne nodded to show she understood. Her mouth was still full. Mrs.
Beasley kept on talking. “People think
leaves are the best part of fall, but I think autumn’s mums are even
better. It’s nice to have a splash of color on the ground—or outside my window!”
She chuckled again and slid the window shut.
“What would you like to do next, Suzanne? Play checkers, or
sort buttons?”
Suzanne was finally done with her bread. “Buttons!” she
said. She knew Mrs. Beasley would have unique buttons, and Suzanne had lost at
checkers the last few times they played.
“I was hoping you’d say that!” said Mrs. Beasley. “No one
ever offers to help with such silly things. My sons certainly
never did when they were boys.”
Mrs. Beasley dumped a carton full of buttons onto the
table and told Suzanne they should start by sorting by color. Suzanne carefully
stacked columns of yellow, blue, green, and black buttons. She smiled as
she worked, and Mrs. Beasley turned on the radio to a jazz station. Suzanne
just loved afternoons with Mrs. Beasley.
Comments