by Donna Swagerty Shreve
2007
Summer of 1966 kept my friend Nancy in Stockton instead of heading to her home in Berkeley. She had decided to stay so she could attend U.O.P. summer school and have a few courses out of the way for graduation. Nancy and two other girls rented an apartment together for the summer. One roommate decided to contribute to the apartment decor with fake flower arrangement in a blown glass orange bowl.
This flower decor was strikingly ugly as it was probably added as a joke. It had been stolen from one of the lobbies of the campus dorms. This infamous piece of adornment remained in the girls’ apartment until the end of the summer.
Nancy ended up being the last one to leave the apartment and got stuck with possession of the flower arrangement. Nancy got inspired to “gift” this “prize” to my mother Melva. Mom was not thrilled but put on her polite gracious face and accepted the present. It was quickly placed in a back unused room and forgotten.
Meanwhile that same summer, I had introduced Nancy to her future husband. They had recently married and were still receiving gifts. Nancy complained of some gift not having recognizable names. I shared this with Mom and she got inspired. Mischievous Melva had a plan.
Mom found the long forgotten plastic flower decoration and started cleaning it up. It took some effort but after a dusting and rinsing, the flowers looked brand new. Mom then creatively wrapped the present and now it was time for the card. She found a Hallmark special that oozed wedding sentiment. She wrote Donnie and Nan on the outside envelope and signed it from Beryl and George. No one ever called them either Donnie or Nan. Beryl and George seemed just obscure enough to be worth pondering.
I knew that Nancy and Don were leaving the next weekend so an opportunity for delivery was set. I helped Mom leave the present on their front porch. Fifty years ago porch pirates were not a concern. Nancy had now officially been punked.
Nancy called a few days later hoping I could help her. Did I know anyone named George and Beryl. I could truthfully answer, “No.” Now the question was how long do we let Nancy suffer the mystery.
Several months later Nancy, Don, John, Mom and Dad and me all attended a blessing reception. The groom’s mother had insisted that the couple have a blessing a month or so after their elopement. We were all gathered around chatting with glasses of champagne and Nancy shared her tale of woe about the mysterious wedding present from Beryl and George. I remained just a passive listener but Mom decided to give Nancy a few clues.
After restraining my giggles, Mom took mercy and giggled herself. Nancy had that light bulb go off and gave a big shriek. “Melva!” We all had a good laugh as Mom answered questions about her devious prank. Looking back at her long life, I realized that mischievous streak was always there and came out now and then.
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