Lyric Trapeze Boy

I hadn t thought about Mrs. Morgan for years, until I read in the paper
that she had died. When I was a boy, Mrs. Morgan played solo with my
mother every Tuesday afternoon. There were two other women there, but
I can t remember their names anymore. Monkey, Magda, something like that.

Mrs. Morgan collected opals. Her husband Ted owned a circus, which kept
him away and out of the picture most of the time. I d come home from
school and the women would be hard at the cards. I liked Mrs. Morgan, she
always had a little chip of opal for me, and said that I should save it
for a sweetheart. I came home one day and Mrs. Morgan was crying in our kitchen.
My mother told me to leave them alone. I learned later that a boy from the
circus had fallen and died. He used to ride the trapeze. Mr. Morgan went out
of business and they moved away. I ve still got the opals.

It s funny how someone you ve never met manages to stay with you.