The unusual funeral reception

Hello dear friend, so glad you stopped by for another walk on this beautiful June day.  I think you will enjoy this story I want to share with you.

This particular incident happened about ten or twelve years ago.  At that time my husband and I were living in a large rural community approximately one hour's drive from my former home town.  My husband was still self-isolating from a lung transplant and not traveling very far from our home.  It was during this time that I received a call from my sister who lived at the end of that one-hour drive.  She called to invite me to accompany her to attend a funeral for the wife of a former doctor we had both worked with at a small hospital during the 60's.  He had asked some of our former co-workers to contact both of us because he had not seen us in many years.  This doctor was now 85 + years.

The day arrived when I was to pick up my sister and we would go together.  Prior to my departure, my sister called and said she was taking a cold and felt it best for her not to go.  I continued on my journey and fortunately found my three friends and former co-workers inside the church.  When the family came into the church I hardly recognized the former doctor whom I had worked with for about five years.  Entering the front of the church was an elderly man whose appearance was unlike the younger doctor I had worked with many years earlier.  I remembered he always had a receding hairline, but now he was almost bald except for a few stray white hairs along the back.  He had trouble walking and his appearance was that of someone who had possibly had a stroke, especially since one side of his face was drawn to one side.  I noticed that his sons aided him in walking.  How sad, I thought,  He must have been through a lot these past years.  My heart was filled with empathy for him.

Immediately following the funeral, we gathered along with the family and other church members and friends in the garden for the entombment of his wife.  It was a very moving ceremony.  We were all invited to join the family in the reception area immediately adjacent to the garden.  As we followed the crowd our first pause was to meet the family, who formed a semi-circle around one side of the very large room.  My friend, the doctor/now widower was first, then his daughter, her children, the three sons, and their families.

I was the first to greet him as I accompanied my three friends.  He looked at me and asked who I was.  I told him my name and what my last name was prior to my now marriage.  He responded with a very loud Oh Yes!  Did I heart that your husband was very sick and may not live long?  He then leaned closer to my ear as he hugged me and said .......".you know, I am available now"!  Well, I stood back and looked him straight in the eye as I released his hug and said, "well I am not!"

I am sure that his children heard him say that and I was very embarrassed.  We had nothing more than a professional working relationship during the five years we worked for the same hospital.  I avoided him during the reception, and as I was preparing to make my exit, I decided to go over to his table ( where he was seated with one of his sons and some friends).  Once again I expressed my condolences and wished him well.  He pulled our a pen and piece of paper and asked me for my phone number and e-mail and proceeded to write his information.  As he finished this task of another humiliating moment, he once again stated.  "I am available now, you know, and let me know when your husband dies!"

I literally ran out of the reception room!  Any empathy I had was replaced with surprising disappointment.  I wished I could have been spared that experience and held onto the memory of the young doctor, husband, father of four that I had once had the pleasure of working with.

   As I reflected the events of the day on my drive home, It changed from shock, surprise and some sorrow to a hilarious time in my life, and another great story to tell.  It was totally unexpected and I could not wait to tell my husband that story!  As I expected, he joined me in a great laugh for the day, especially when he added, "Go, with my blessings, honey"!