Short Story

Calm and Choppy Waters

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Stream of Consciousness Saturday
where the theme is ‘ship’. This is my stream.

Harbor in my hometown © Nancy Richy

Sometimes in life you make a connection with another person and you know right away it’s special. That happened to me 40 years ago on the day we moved into our new house.

We weren’t moving very far – just about a quarter mile from where we were living. That’s the wonderful thing about this little town; no one wants to leave! It’s quaint, friendly, clean and quiet with it’s beautiful harbor full of ships bobbing peacefully on small waves.

Moving day arrived and the crew was busy getting our boxes loaded for shipping to the new house. My husband stayed behind making sure all went smoothly while I headed over to the new house with our two small sons to wait for the moving vans.

We were sitting on the floor of our empty house playing a game when someone knocked on the door. It was our new neighbor, Debby, who came over to introduce herself. When she saw us sitting on the floor, she insisted we go over to her place which was right next door. When I explained that I was waiting for the moving vans to arrive, Debby said I’d have a clear view of my house from her comfortable sofa. I didn’t need any more convincing and agreed to go over.

When we walked into Debby’s house, the first thing I noticed were the numerous framed photos of large fishing ships, most of them with her husband grinning and displaying a huge fish. I thought how nice it would be for my husband to have a fellow fisherman living next door.

Debby and I started talking and it was as easy and natural as rain. We had so much in common, it felt like we’d known each other all our lives. She also had two young sons and my boys had instant friends. We talked non-stop while I waited for the movers to show up; by the time the vans arrived, a great friendship had been formed and is still going strong. We’ve been through bad hair days, secrets, laughs, tears, vacations, runs to the emergency room, weddings, flooded basements, missing cats, birthdays, Covid, lots of wine, illness, school fairs, Christmases and devastating deaths.

It’s so nice when you have neighbors you get along with; it’s priceless when you have a great relationship like mine and Debby’s. We’re very close and so much alike, people think we’re sisters. If I need to cry or share a laugh, Deb’s the first one I call. The same is true for her. We are each others best friend, two women lucky to have this amazing “soulship” to carry us through the calm and choppy waters of life.

Me (L) and Debby on Halloween during Covid. © Nancy Richy

NAR©2024

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Aug. 10, 2024

This is “Wooden Ships” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

41 thoughts on “Calm and Choppy Waters”

    1. Thanks so much, Cindy! It must be awful for neighbors who don’t get along. Debby and I are incredibly blessed to have each other. 😇

      That pic was taken during covid. There was no trick or treating but the kids in our neighborhood and their parents had a costume parade. Debby and I set up a table with treats outside my house, donned our witches hats and masks and went outside to cheer on the parade. It was a great Halloween! 🎃 👻

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      1. It’s soooo true and there are always some. I’m blown away by how much land you could be on and that there is a squabble.. big or small it doesn’t matter.
        That is soooo cool and what fun. The neighbors must have loved it❣️. It’s coming soon❤️

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  6. Those are very special friendships indeed! We moved into a house when I was 4 and similarly, we made best friends with neighbors 3 doors down, the moms, the dads, and me and my best friend now of over 50 years!😊

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  8. Now that is a beautiful thing!

    I’ve had wonderful neighbours over the years. While I don’t see her much anymore, my former neighbour across the street, I’ve known since she was born… which will be 59 years this September.

    One of my sisters is super lucky because both neighbours on each side are wonderful and they regularly do things together, dinners, travel, etc.

    This was a wonderful read, Nancy.

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    1. It’s true, Selma. There are days when we will talk frequently with each other and times when a week or two will go by without a word, but when we re-connect it’s like no time lapsed. We both know life happens and realize that being incommunicado for a little while doesn’t mean something is wrong or the friendship is in jeopardy. We always reconnect.

      Thanks for your thoughts, my dear xo

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    1. We really do! We both wore the same dress to my son’s wedding …. quite un-planned, I assure you. Mine was deep purple and Deb’s was dark blue. I had my dress picked out and at the last minute saw another one I liked better. It happened to be the same as Deb’s which I had not previously seen. The wedding photographer thought we were twins and kept getting us mixed up. Meanwhile, my biological sister and I do not look alike at all. It’s strange how that happens.

      Thanks for you comments, Matt.

      PS – I just remembered what the wedding photographer said to me: “I know your husband has a twin brother but I had no idea YOU had a twin sister! What are the odds!“

      😃

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      1. It’s an extraordinary happenstance and the dress story sounds like something you might see in a midday movie. But this is real!
        Were you both born around the same time? If so, you have to wonder what Deb’s father was up to…(I’m just joking). That wedding photographer quote is ‘Gold’ but I can understand his presumption Haha Even more remarkable considering your own sister doesn’t look anything like you.
        I’m looking at your photo again and it just boggles my mind (as it has countless others) how you are not related.

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    1. As a man, Allen, I think you can answer your question better than I can. However, since you asked, here are my thoughts: Some men can, certainly, with both men and women. My husband is one; his friend Joe is as close to a brother as anyone can get. For many years I had a very close friendship with a man, my fellow choir director. I believe that book title is accurate: Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Both are definitely capable of forming deep, long-lasting friendships … and not just with members of the same sex.

      Not all women form these bonds but more women do than men, IMO.

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