Esther The Scrabble Queen

At 99 she was Scrabble Queen

Beating the young and the old

And everyone in between

With tiara perched atop her head

She counted up her points

The game she always led

“My name is Esther."

Her blue eyes focused on me, then past me. Ringlets of white hair climbed over her tiara. Her tights sagged elephant style about her knees and one shoe was gone.  A frosted, half-eaten cupcake lay in her lap. She thrust a bouquet of wild flowers into my hand and adjusted a ribbon stuck to the front of her dress.

“I’m 99 and today is my birthday.” 

She smiled exposing blue teeth. A frown clouded her face.  Dried icing in the corners of her mouth flaked and fell away.

 “Well maybe it’s my birthday."

She touched the tiara on her head where it sat eschew. 

“Or maybe I just like to wear a tiara”. 

The ruby ribbon on her breast read Scrabble Champion. Esther threw her hands in the air,

“Me, too! I’m scrabble champion, too!” 

I tried to explain that I was reading her ribbon out loud and that I was not a Scrabble champion but she was spelling words and telling me how much each was worth in Scrabble points.  I wondered out loud how it was that she sat here alone in the hall way?

 “Oh I’ve just been here."

 She said as if that were explanation enough. I looked up the hall way and then down the hall way. Where were the nurses and why had they left her out here?

“Are those for me?”

Esther reached for the flowers she’d handed me earlier. I nodded and handed them back to her. She held them to her nose and inhaled deeply.  

“Just lovely!”

“Esther!” Yelled a woman in a mid-length skirt and nurses shoes. 

With her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face she planted herself square in front of Esther’s chair. 

“Where in the world do you think you are going?” 

The nurse wheeled Esther around and the cupcake in her lap toppled to the floor.

“This is my granddaughter” said Esther.

The nurse looked over her shoulder at me. I looked over my shoulder and seeing no one behind me I looked back at the nurse. I shook my head side to side ready to explain.

“Well”, said the nurse, “Get in here, child. I can’t have Esther out here in the hall.” 

She turned her attention back to Esther. 

“Where has your shoe gone?” 

She shook her head, clicked her tongue and pushed Esther towards the dining room. Esther craned her neck towards me.  

“Come along dear and meet the others”.