She and her husband were friends with my parents going back to when Moses wore short pants. We lived on one end of the town and they lived on the other. But once or twice a year we made the trek from East Atlanta or Stone Mountain (depending on where we were living at the time) to Riverdale to spend an evening visiting, laughing and digging back into stories that went on long after our plates were empty. They were stories from days that seemed like a thousand years ago to me but were clearly just yesterday for the parents and grandparents at the table. Listening to them, the evolution of what we later called "the greatest generation" was quite evident. If not then, certainly later in life when I had sense enough and life experience enough to appreciate what these people had lived through. Along the way I wasn't ever the kid yawning and watching the clock in U.S. History classes. Because of those evenings at the Roberts' supper table (and that heavenly spaghetti) the places and people taught through textbooks and lectures were days I felt I'd lived myself.
Evelyn was the very embodiment of everything we've come to know about that generation: Loving those in their life with a deep, functioning love - "...not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18. You have no idea how proud it'd make her that I quoted scripture in my effort to pay tribute to her.) Never living above their means. Never complaining about a day's work, whether at a job or at home, keeping a house full of young 'uns in clean clothes and with full bellies. Hardships endured weren't refined into fuel for martyrdom - they were transfigured into ways to make the world a better place.
When I was a child and at home during the summers, it was usually just Mama and me, as my sisters were older and either married, on their own or going to summer classes. The phone rang a few times a day. I learned Mama's demeanor well enough to know who was on the other end. If it sounded like she was talking family business (" I went to the bank..." "Insurance company called..." "That faucet is leaking..." Tim's been in the backyard all day with the dogs...") it was Daddy, checking in from his office to see what was shaking. If she was laughing out loud, making jokes, being happy and assuring the person on the other end it was good to hear from her, then I knew it was Evelyn. Mama would be in a good mood the rest of the day after a call from Evelyn.
I don't think she ever forgot a birthday. And stand back when you opened her card - confetti or glitter was going to fall out and make you laugh. She sent me and my sisters birthday cards whether we were 10 years old or grown, married folks. There are a few still around my house somewhere, I'm sure. I'll never throw them away and someday - when my time comes and someone is going through stuff I've kept - they'll wonder where the confetti is coming from and go home with a speck of glitter somewhere on their body.
I was there at the hospital the last time Evelyn came to visit Mama, shortly before we had to relinquish the matriarch of our family to hospice care. Mama was near the end, not talking much. When she did talk it was not something one could understand . She recognized very few of us and was clearly ready to go home. A stare was all she had to give. But when Evelyn approached her bed, grabbed her hand and said "Hey sweetheart..." Mama smiled a big smile. Evelyn said "I came by to see you how you're doing and to tell you how much I love you." For the first time in a while Mama opened her mouth and said "well ok then." They kept holding hands for more than just a few minutes, simply exchanging smiles. I could see a thousand unspoken sentiments being expressed by two people who KNEW each other, down to the core of their souls. When she left Evelyn kissed Mama on the jaw and walked away from that bed and told her son "I reckon we'd better go." She gave me a kiss and a hug and told me everything was going to be alright. I knew she didn't mean that Mama wasn't going to die - it meant that Evelyn firmly believed she'd better off than all of us when she did die and wanted me to believe it too.
Because of a pandemic attacking the country she loved, only a few us were able to sit out in the sun and say goodbye to Evelyn as they laid her to rest right next to her beloved husband. Though we're not blood relatives I'll be forever grateful to her family that they consider us such and allowed us to be there. Speaking of being laid to rest, I hope Evelyn's able to get some. See on the other side she's going to be quite busy helping my Mama keep my father and her husband in line. And I sure hope she has time to keep an eye on me and all the countless souls that gained an angel when she left us. Mostly, I hope that heaven has a kitchen - I'm gonna' need a plate of spaghetti when it's time for me to head that way.
