A gift from Thomas

It has taken Thomas nearly a year to figure out my name and the fact that I'm a regular fixture around the L'Arche Edmonton offices. Of course, that's mostly my fault. I think I confused him early on by telling him that I was "being Carmel" for a few days while our office administrator was away. He seemed suspicious of me for a long time after that. It also took me a while to understand that when he said "Who?" rather loudly, he was asking my name as only Thomas does. No wonder it took him so long to remember my name -- I didn't realize he was trying to in his own way.

While I was running the stairs to set up a meeting yesterday, Thomas met me on the landing, clutching some precious papers. One was a very colourful picture of a haunted house. "Is that for me?" I asked, knowing very well that it was for his favourite person in the building, and that I am not that person. Thomas told me who it was for, and I praised it up and down, then asked him when he was going to make a lovely picture for me to hang up at home.

He looked at it for a moment, then he looked at me, and gingerly handed it over. I applauded his use of colour, and was about to hand it back to him, when he said, "No, it's for you, Memaria. See, I being nice to you."

Later I learned that Thomas had started out making a "present" for a brother he will be visiting soon, but changed his mind, thinking to give it to his favourite -- but he got sidetracked again. His picture now hangs on the wall in my dining room. How could it not?