The Cookie Lady

by John C. Westervelt

When I talked with Nelda’s mother in Enid on Sunday, she seemed excited to share her good news. In the fall, the last of the neighborhood little girls who came to her house every day for a homemade cookie had moved away. She has sorely missed the children.

On Saturday she decided to make a batch of cookies and a pot of stew. While the cookies were still baking, there was a knock at the door. Two little girls stood on the porch. The older one said, "We have moved back, and would like a cookie."

Mom explained, "The cookies are in the oven right now. Come back in a little while."

Mom remembered the smaller child as being just a toddler when the family moved out of state about two years ago. The mind of a child never forgets the cookie lady. It wasn’t long until the two little girls, with their brother in tow, were back on the porch expecting a cookie.

I wonder who experienced the greater joy that day - the ninety-four-year-old or the young children.

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