"She's my oldest friend, although she's older than I am. Poor Mabel, she's had a very unhappy life."
I said one felt in her the sympathy that came from experience.
"Oh yes, she's so brave; she's wonderful."
I said I supposed she'd had great disappointments.
"More than that. Tragedies. One thing after another."
I asked whether she had any children.
"Her two little girls both died when they were babies. But it wasn't that. She'll tell you all about it, perhaps, some day."
I said I doubted whether we would ever meet again.
"Mabel always keeps up with everybody she makes friends with. She doesn't often make new friends. She told me she had made two new friends here. You and Kranitski."
"She likes him?" I said.