The figs were trimmed like hedgerows under the back terrace.
We took our coffee there overlooking the river.
The fruit, thick and heavy, awaited her soft hands to get there before the wasps.
Her tarts-light, sweet and savory, garnished with purple chive flowers-were a seasonal attraction that almost rivaled the fishing.
She was Irish, who kept the place.
Ruddy and cheerful. Efficient.
No hint in her green eyes that she’d lost two boys.
One in the war.
One soon after, of grief.
Sorrow did not hang on her.
Did not shroud her as it rightfully might have.
As it could have with a lesser spirit.
Of course, no one sees her in the kitchen,
Where a chance tear might drip into the diced potatoes,
Salting the morning’s hash browns.
Hot Bottoms 