The Table Part 2

At first the table was at odds within it's new surrounding.

The peace, quiet and daily routine of Vera and Bert's home was beginning to become a distant memory.
Now the table found itself surrounded by noise, hustle and bustle.
Clearly life had taken on a new meaning for the table.
More often than not now, the table found that both it's fold away flaps were extended out and actually left out.

The table found itself in almost constant use these days and had began to realise that this was perhaps it's sole purpose. To be busy, busy, busy.
The table was happy with the new woman, she lavished love and attention on the tale and that made the table feel comfortable. But the best thing was that Vera still came to visit and clearly these two women were the very best of friends.

The women were often to be found at the table, mostly due to the fact that the table now lived in a huge kitchen. While the table was still used for high days and holidays it had a more general purpose now.
The new family was large and noisy and brought their friends to sit, talk and eat at the table.
But it was when the two women sat at the table and chatted while making clothes for the numerous children, knitting, sewing and all manner of crafts, that the table was most content.

Thelma made the most lovely lace and was more than happy to teach her friend.
Over the years the two women, chopped veg, made jams, marmalades, cakes, bread, prepared meals and feasts at the table.
They polished it to such a high shine that it could almost blind a person when the sun shone upon it.

On high days a holidays the table would be laid with the best crisp white linens and silver and fresh flower., The table was soar away happy and couldn't fathom out what it had done to deserve such wonderful people and events to share it's time with.

One day some new people arrived, there was a big happy reunion and lots of chatter about how big all the children had become. The table had long concluded that children were nothing like tables. Children were noisy, grew at an alarming rate and were never still. Tables were quite, never grew, and stayed very very still.

The room at the reunion was full to bursting with children, but the tables attention was drawn to the smallest of the children. A tiny little girl with blonde curly hair and wide eyes, she seemed shy and had ventured under the table. The tiny girl sat very very still and she unnerved the table in her quiet stillness.

Her mother kept calling her to come out from underneath, but she steadfastly sat there staring into space completely ignoring her mother. It turned out that the family who had come for the reunion had in fact known Thelma and Robbie for a number of years and had faced adversity together during the second world war. The family of the little girl were in deep trouble and the parents of the tiny girl were facing prison and need to keep the children safe or they would all be put into care. There were alot of children in the tiny girls family and it would mean that there would all be separated.

All the adults decided that it would e for the best if the children were to stay with Thelma and Vera and their husbands. After much talking Thelma and Robbie took in the boys. Vera and Bert suddenly found themselves with a house full of girls. They rose to the challenge and soon their house ran out to the sound of squealing girls giggling a way when ever Bert came home from the docks as he chased them around the house with his big dirty working hands threatening to ruin their clothes.

Every weekend Thelma, Vera, their husbands and the children would gather around the table for Friday night prayers, then they would eat. On Saturdays the families would get together and play board games at the table, laugh and eat. On Sundays they would all squash a round the table again after church and have Sunday lunch.

The table helped them to celebrate birthdays and spent weekends, holidays and high days with this large and extended family. The new children rarely saw their parents and after a few years they stopped coming all together and the table never saw them again. Some times the tiny little girl would sit under the table and be completely still, quiet, just staring off into space. Sometimes she fell asleep under the table which the table liked.

The tiny girl grew up into a lovely young girl, although still tiny and rather quiet. She had a laugh like falling rain and the table loved to hear her laugh, then one day she was gone. In fact all the children had grown and left.

The house became very quiet and only sometimes did they all get together.