Mrs. Duggins

Grace Duggins was a feisty old lady. I was kind of scared of her. She was a friend of my dad and step-mother. A widow, she lived alone. Her only child, a son named Bernard, lived in Hong Kong. Grace (I would never have called her that back then) taught piano lessons out of her home. She much preferred teaching boys as she said girls were just too silly. I was a teenager when I met her. She fascinated me. She was independent and out spoken. If she thought you were full of poppy cock, she didn't mince words telling you so. I remember thinking how cool it was that she seemed perfectly fine without a man. As a young teenage girl, all I could think about was getting one. After Kenny and I got married, Mrs. Duggins gave me a black half-slip. I can't remember why she did it. Perhaps I mentioned needing one. More likely, she caught a glimpse of my legs through my skirt when I was wandering around without a slip. That wouldn't do at all; so she presented me with the slip. Now if you ever want someone to think about you, give them something they will wear often. Every time I put on that slip, I thought of her. She lived on her own well into her 90's and drove herself out to a country church to play the piano. Although she is gone now, I still have her gift  in my lingerie drawer.