Ah, May. I can’t believe she’s gone. We met her five years ago when we moved into our new house. Pool was here with her. They looked so much alike, we thought they were siblings, but they were only distant cousins.

May and Pool were hipper than the friends I’d left behind in Tennessee. My old friends were upright, dependable, but not at all innovative. These two — I did things with them I’d never done before.

It caught me by surprise when she died. Sure, she’d started taking longer to finish her work. But last week she was her usual whirling dervish self, finishing right on time. The code team came in…there was nothing they could do.

Poor Pool is quite lost without her. I saw a steady-looking toploader at Lowe’s last week. I think I’ll introduce them after the holidays.