Now two years have passed, and I could count the times I was inside Signe’s House on my fingers. The few times I carried her groceries in, the times I brought the discarded pool cues from the pool cue factory (for kindling), the few times I toted in wood for her fireplace. Always with a thank you and a if I need anything I’ll call you. Each time I would nod and ask you have my number, right? She’d laugh.

Then one day she called me at work and asked if I could come over and fill her bird feeders. I said I could come after work. She told me she might not be home then, but the bird seed was in the garage next to the Step ladder. I told her I knew where they were and would take care of it Sometime around 4:00 I went by on my way home. I went straight to the garage and got the pail of bird seed and the ladder I started out back by the beach where she had three feeders and worked my way around the house finishing at the largest feeder by her front door. All done. I decided to take a brake and sat down on the bench by the door.

I sat there for a few minutes and watched the chickadees feasting on the food. They must have been starving. I wondered, and then slowly I reached into the pail of seeds. I pulled out a handful and sat back down. I held my hand on my lap and waited. Not even one minute later a chickadee landed on my shirt cuff, looked at me, and then started to eat from my hand. Soon there were three chickadees eating from my hand. When the food was gone the flew off. I went back to the pail and started the possess again. Sitting as still as I could I watched the chickadees return to eat the seeds. When I was feeding them the fourth handful Signe came home. She got out of her friend’s car and just stared at me with three or four chickadees eating out of my hand. She smiled and I smiled back. when the chickadees flew off she came over to me and said that she used to feed them the same way.

I got up and told her I would put the ladder and pail back in the garage and then she said it “when you’re done come into the house and have a drink with me”. End part two. Part three to follow.