25 November 2014
This morning, I joined my friend Glynnis on her delivery rounds. She and Max were delivering copies of the Pinelands Muse magazine all over the neighbourhood. The December/January edition is the final one of the year, and now they’re going to have a well-earned break until it’s time to publish the February 2015 edition.
“Are you excited?” asked Glynnis, fastening the seatbelt around me.
“Yes! Very!” I exclaimed. “Can you tell?”
She laughed. “Yes, you’re beaming from ear to ear today. And you keep sliding out of your seatbelt, because you’re wriggling around so much.”
“I can’t help it,” I said. “I just can’t keep still!”
It was almost midday by the time that Glynnis turned into a familiar street. She grinned at me and winked. “Recognise it?”
“Oh! Yes! Look – there’s the plane tree on the verge!”
We got out and rang the bell at the gate – and there was Reggie. She gave me a big kiss and we all hugged, and all too soon it was time for Glynnis to leave and to finish her delivery rounds. We stood at the gate, and waved goodbye.
“How about some tea, Flat Kathy? And I have a hot cross bun left over from the weekend, which I was just about to pop in the toaster…”
I nodded, feeling really happy to be home again.
We made ourselves comfortable on the chairs outside on the stoep, with our mug of tea and the hot cross bun. We were just about to settle down, when Gilbert the Gnome popped his head out of a flower pot. “Flat Kathy? Is that you?”
“Gilbert!” I cried. “Yes, how are you?”
Gilbert wiped bits of grass and soil off his hands, and came over to give me a big hug and a big smacker of a kiss on the cheek. His own cheeks were flushed with joy. I could tell that he had missed me, as he’s not normally this effusive.
“Gilbert, would you like to join Kathy for some tea and a bun?” offered Reggie politely. “I’ll leave the two of you to catch up for a bit.”
The Fantastical Voyages of Flat Kathy 