Denny's

We ate lunch at Denny's on Friday. The clearest voice for overhearing was a large woman sitting obscured by her smaller friend, and across from Leonard. All three were in their 60s and properly dressed. I thought they might be from a church group, because of references to "sister" so-and-so and "sister" this-and-that. But it was Friday. The distinct woman was talking in great narrative detail about her mammogram. I've never had one, but it sounds ouch! When they said they wanted to get another picture because they'd found something, all these thoughts went through her head, Leonard. Leonard was a tall man with a large chest and skinny legs. He almost never spoke, nor did the smallish woman obscuring the woman of distinct voice. Leonard mostly held up his coffee cup, trying to signal for a refill from staff who never noticed him. The distinct woman used his name about once a minute, Leonard, at seemingly random points in the narrative. After the mammogram results turned out harmless, we heard about this woman she met on a bus, years ago, who was tall and thin, Leonard, not stout, but like her (I didn't see the gesture but I assume she pointed at my lovely wife's back), and absolutely beautiful, with gorgeous green eyes. German. And just a miserable alcoholic. He left her, you know, Leonard. So, after her own mammogram turned out harmless, she ran into this same German woman ... again on a bus! She'd gone into the program and finally dried out after all those years, and turned her life around. She met a wonderful man, married him. That's how she's doing. And now she has breast cancer.