Surprise House Guest

From file written February 28, 1993

Let me tell you my major faux pas.

About a month ago, I was delighted to receive a telephone call from Louis Bondurant III, son of dear friends. When Bucher and I moved to Atlanta in the late Forties, I got to know Louis III’s parents, Louis Bondurant, Jr. and Fran Ward, who were dating at the time. Coincidentally, Fran’s sister, Margie Ward, had married one of Bucher’s favorite cousins, Dan MacIntyre. During our six years in Atlanta, Fran & Louis and Margie & Dan were among our closest friends.

When we left Atlanta, we remained in frequent close contact with Fran and Louis. They married after a years-long courtship; Louis III, their eldest, is a couple years younger than Carli. We saw him and his parents regularly in the late Fifties when we lived on the Siesta Key and they vacationed in nearby Clearwater, Florida. Fran and Louis’s younger son Ward was born just months before we moved back to Belize and their daughter Rhea, a few years later.

Louis III (whom I’ll refer to simply as Louis because his father doesn’t figure in this anecdote) had called to say that he, his wife Melody, and Ward were coming down to go scuba diving at one of the cayes and wondered if they could come on into town afterwards to see me. Louis had visited us when he was sixteen and wanted to show Melody and Ward the places he had enjoyed. They had a complicated schedule of activities, so I expected to be primarily a supper-bed-and-breakfast stop. I looked forward to having them here.

 

The young Bondurants arrived yesterday. When I met them at the airport, I was a little perplexed because Ward did not look at all as I remembered him. He was tall and rangy instead of short and plump. I mentally congratulated current emphasis on fat-free diets and reminded myself that I had not seen Ward since he was in his teens. We had a big reunion as they piled enough luggage for a trip around the world into the car.

Later, when I had a moment alone with Louis and Melody, I asked them about Ward’s wife Mary. Louis had not explained why she had not come, and I wanted to avoid any verbal booby traps that might be waiting for me. They said Mary was expecting a baby in April. I thought it a little strange that her husband was gallivanting around Central America so close to the time, but it certainly wasn’t my business.

Moments later, Ward came into the room. I congratulated him enthusiastically on his soon-to-be fatherhood. There was a collective gasp of disbelief. Ward laughed and said that, as far as he knew, fatherhood was not in his future, since he was not married. And the whole thing sorted out.

This was Louis’s cousin, Ward MacIntyre, son of Margie and Dan, not his brother, Ward Bondurant. I was mortified at not having recognized a relative, though I think the last time I saw this Ward, he was about five. Louis apologized, saying that he knew which Ward he meant when he phoned me and didn’t realize that I might be confused.

It all passed off with a laugh, though I still am embarrassed.

These three young people could not be more delightful or easier to have as guests. I am enjoying them thoroughly. (You note that I continually refer to them as young. When we were children, pushing forty was nudging the door to middle age.)