When I was little

Every Sunday the phone would ring and it would be Pam.  She was a secretary who worked for my Dad before I was born and she used to ring once a week for a chat.  She also used to send us birthday and Christmas cards and was always interested in our lives.  Lizzy and I used to hate answering the phone because we could never hear her properly (she had a really old crackly phone) and we could never be bothered to listen to her rambling on.

We became more polite as we got older but as she grew more lonely she used to phone more and more til we stopped answering the phone or started lying and saying Dad was out just so he had a chance to eat dinner in peace!  It had gotten to the point where we were the only friends she had.  She was old and alone with no family.  I don't think I ever met her, just talked to her once a week from the time I was old enough to answer the phone until I left home.

The only reason I'm writing this is because Dad just emailed to say she's died and I feel guilty.  Like I should have done more?  I don't know.  It's weird.

Rest in Peace Pam.