The last time I saw the glamorous Maria was when I was pregnant with Ben, about seven years ago. Maria and I also lived together in Amherst while I was working at UMass Press after graduation. We had an upstairs apartment right in the center of town. (Peach, Maria! Peach!) She bought the house next door to her parents after several years of working in fashion and design in Boston and New York. She freelances now, so she can be anywhere, and she’s rooming with her sister Clara.

Um… the last time I saw Clara, I think she was about seven years old. Today…well I sure feel old…

Maria invited two more of our UMass suitemates from McNamara dorm. It’s been more than 20 years since I’ve seen Sharon and Sarah! We had some pizza and some wine and got caught up with one another’s lives.

Sarah is married to a really interesting guy named Guy(!) and has established her own law practice. Her two boys are adorable, with long brown hair and attitudes reminiscent of her own. They will be able to stand up for themselves in any situation. We had a really interesting discussion about veal as a food that is kosher, but violates tikkun because of the cruelty. Write the article, publish it! I think you’re right.

Sharon is working hard and has been through a lot in the last few years, but she is just as sweet and fun as ever. I had forgotten how petite she really is. I felt like I could sweep her off the ground with no effort at all. I was tempted to do so. She brought her beautiful, spunky little daughter.

Ben ran around with the other kids – they were like a bunch of wolves, almost immediately forming their own little pack. Maria’s mom and dad were just as nice as I remembered, too. Her dad took me on a little tour of the big old rambling cemetery behind their houses. It looked down on a little skating pond.

Maria set up a fire in a big outdoor fireplace – we had one at one of the houses I lived in as a kid, and that brought back memories, too. We sat and talked and looked at the fire. Big hugs all around. Maria introduced us to her current beau, who is a firefighter that she met at a Rolling Stones concert. When they met, she was standing behind the wheelchair section (“they don’t stand up to block the view,” she explained with a characteristic grin).

Everyone is different than they were, and yet there is that essential streak of individual flair and flavor that never changes. I am perhaps getting a bit sentimental, but I was caught off-guard by the overwhelming feeling of affection that came rushing up inside me in response to the sight of their faces, the sound of their voices. We are all such different women – we probably would never have met one another if we didn’t room together in college. I am so grateful to know them. They are each so unique, so beautiful and smart, and so singularly themselves. I’m smiling just looking at their faces in these photographs. I wish that Shawn and Lauren and Dominique could have been there too. I love you, my friends.

We crashed on an air mattress on Maria’s breezeway. Maria ran off in the morning to a gig in New Hampshire. Her mom made us a breakfast of waffles (thank you so much Pat), and I had a quick conversation with Clara on the phone, then we set off for Boston to deliver John’s manuscript…

To be continued…