The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
Soup and Sisters
I’m willing to bet they are sisters, or perhaps very close cousins, but the group of three women are all sitting with identical postures while waiting for the airplane. The outside-two women lean around the middle sister, who leans back so they can chat across her lap. They wear sensible shoes, light jackets made for layering and ease of travel. They have a few smart accessories and plenty to say.
The sister on the right begins a story, gesturing and speaking toward the ceiling, then toward the middle sister. It’s like someone breaking into a Shakespearean soliloquy during a sitcom. The sister on the left must not enjoy The Bard, because she begins to look away. She’s staring out as though people-watching, but her gaze is more glazed than focused. The voice of the sister on the right picks up tempo and volume, and she says, “I make a lot of…”
As she trails off to hunt for the word, the left sister becomes unglazed: “Bad decisions?”
“–Soup! I make a lot of soup, and then I freeze it!”
There’s a pause as the pieces of the conversation converge. The middle sister’s jaw is tense against the awkwardness of being the stuff between the comments. The interjecting sister stares blankly toward the conversation she has crashed, then to the sister she’s insulted. “You make a lot of soup?”
They pause for a crackling beat before they dissolve into laughter. “I make very good decisions, I’ll have you know! I invited you, didn’t I?” They recover so quickly they must be sisters. They make me about as homesick for my siblings as I’ve ever been, and suddenly desirous of soup.
–Prague airport, Czech Republic
The Nice Thing About Strangers 
Sounds exactly like my two sisters and me! Thanks so much for the smile.
Happy to help! I think part of being a sister is the witty retort. 🙂
Paige
Hearing sisters talk can be bloody funny just try listening to me and my sisters talk
I’ll try to eavesdrop on you the next chance I get. 🙂 Thanks, Joanne!
Paige
Ask me – I have three (!) sisters and NOT one brother… 🙂
Liebe Grüße,
Maccabros
My little brother is the only boy among four older sisters, so I’m sure he feels your pain. He’s also my best friend, so perhaps that’s why you and I get on so well. 🙂
Lg,
pmj
Nice story, Paige !! 🙂
M-R, I am so grateful for you! I know it’s not in use down there, but Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Paige
I’ll accept good wishes for any day !!! – especially from someone who has such a keen eye for human nature. 🙂
“… the left sister becomes unglazed:” A wonderful line among many. I haven’t visited in an age, so I have some catching up to do!