The Promise

The Promise

“A joy that’s shared is a joy made double.”
English Proverb

My Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon had five kids between them. So when my cousin Hawley was born, they hired a nanny to help out. And oh, what a nanny she was! Mrs. Edna Duvall was her full name, though we called her Duvie, and she had worked for Bob Hope and other luminaries before she came to live with my aunt and uncle and cousins.

We all loved her, parents and kids alike. She was like our third grandmother and loved to laugh at our stories and antics. Duvie came from Virginia with a beautiful Southern accent and phrasing. I don’t ever remember her being mad at any of us, which is an amazing feat by itself.

If she wanted a special favor, such as fetching some item from the other end of the house, she might say, “Please get me that bag I left in the kitchen.” And she would always follow her request with the same very special promise. After a while we came to believe her promise, even though we were just little kids.

When my sister got married, I believe that Duvie had the third best time at the wedding. And she even caught the bouquet! If you look around in this photo, you can see many of my cousins, friends and me, and the joy and love that fine lady from Virginia brought to our family. And that day she fulfilled her promise of years before when she would joyfully say, “If you’ll go get my bag, I’ll dance at your weddin!”

Excerpted from the forthcoming book by Hank Frazee, The Oldest Guy in the Yoga Class.