Fishcrow of Ember

This was not one of Madame's better days. She seemed more confused than usual. She had trouble finding the right words for what she was trying to communicate. As a result, I was a bit confused too! An exchange of texts with Mademoiselle later explained some of it. In any case, she was not expecting me when I arrived, although I had called her about an hour earlier. I had to help her put her shoes on. It's a very cold day, and I had some difficulty in getting her in and out of the car without subjecting her to too much walking in the cold and on slippery ice. She visited the bathroom three times while we were in the cafe. The third time, I lost track of her. I had just found her, and arrived at her location as I was being paged! I thought this was very clever of her. But she doesn't necessarily remember my name. She had them announce that "If there is any person who is with [real name of Madame], they should go to the front desk."

As I was getting her into the car, I happened to look down the drive in front of the bookstore. The cafe had been crowded, particularly with groups of old ladies. I think many of them were having festive luncheons in advance of Christmas. I had noticed one among them, a diminutive lady who walked with difficulty and used a cane. Our paths had crossed. I saw her sitting on the curb. Her bag had turned upside down and was scattering its contents. I left Madame in the car, hoping she would not be perturbed by my absence, and asked the curb-sitter if she needed a hand. With some chagrin, she accepted my help to get on her feet again. I gathered up her belongings and handed her the cane. Apparently, she had tried to step off the curb, slipped and sat down inadvertently, then couldn't get up again. I kept an eye on her as I returned to my car, and saw that she had crossed the drive and reached her car. I hope she got home safely.

I dropped Madame off just as the predicted freezing rain arrived. At present, an icy wind is rising. There are big waves on the lake, and more snow is due to fall tonight. The roads are a mess. The Sparrowhawk wisely decided not to go to the gym tonight, and then learned that Coach had canceled tonight's class anyway. It's a good night to hunker down and not go anywhere. It was a hell of a day for old ladies . . . .