Conjunctivitis

After a long estrangement
my husband’s aunt returned east
to reunite with her mother and sister

In the first twenty minutes of her monolog
she repeated the same conjunctive phrase
several times while my mind struggled to relate it
to the adjacent elements of the narrative

She shopped at the mall
“and in doing so”
rejected questionable sales items
she had baked a cake
“and in doing so”
avoided burning the bottom of the pan

Her every experience was logically predicated
on a previous decision to act
It appeared  marvelous until I realized
that some actions — upon closer scrutiny
were less causal
She ate a sandwich “and in doing so”
broke her shoelace
She lost her glasses “and in doing so”
took a bath

My mother-in-law’s conversation
had long been similarly seasoned
with a pet conjunction
though hers more an affirmation
of conflict resolution —
“Nevertheless” she overcame all obstacles

It rained — “nevertheless” she got the mail
Her car broke down — “nevertheless”
she took a bus and arrived on time
But here too —  the conflicts involved
were not consistently contingent
She read a biography — “nevertheless”
a stray dog dug up her flower bed

Their sweet enduring mother had her own verbal tick —
but it seemed like a conjunction
from which the second clause had been abandoned

We had a nice time at the movies “even though …”
— even though the projector broke?
— even though the popcorn was soggy?
—  even though someone behind her kept kicking her seat?

She was wearing a beautiful wedding gown  “even though …”
— even though it made her look like a poodle?
— even though the attendants wore burlap?
–even though she showed up at the wrong church?

The younger sister made a valiant attempt to assert
her authority in the family
after twenty five years absence
“and in doing so”  predictably annoyed
the older less wayward one
“I wish I was that sure about everything I did!”
she observed wryly
“Nevertheless” she accepted her back into the family
and their mother was pleased to have them all together again
“… even though … ”