Friendship Stew

I had lunch with my dearest pal Robin today. Her old college boyfriend Bryan was in town and wanted to do some visiting laced with business about a book he'd written. So I brought my editor from work, promising Nancy at least one hour of laughs and some very interesting conversation. What ensued reminded me of the old childhood fable Stone Soup, where the main character starts out with only a stone and a bit of broth. Smatterings of this and that are added progressively until the end result is a delicious, somewhat complex soup.

Not that lunch with Robin is anything but rich — she is always a delight, worth dropping work projects anytime I'm lucky enough to hear from her. But today went from being a quick "let's do lunch" into a full-fledged surprise reunion party.

Out of the blue, Robin's parents wanted to meet us. So did her teenaged son, Max. Bryan, sort of the guest of honor, was driven to lunch by another college friend I hadn't seen in 20 years. "The Other Robin"— beautiful Robin A.— popped in with her wonderful beau and teenaged son. Another beauty of our college tribe, Trish, drove from 35 miles away, followed soonafter by her brother. Every five minutes there was another arrival, more delighted screams, and more loud, happy conversation about the things that connected all of us over the past 30 years.

Like the soup made from a stone, today's lunch was an unexpected and very satisfying treat.