Early friday morning an envelope Dropped onto Edith's welcome mat Inside was a Birthday Party Invite Adorned by a picture of a siamese cat The party was to celebrate the birthday Of Edith's old nemesis, Mary They'd never really got on So the invite made her quite wary Edith recognised the hand-writing Of Mary's daughter Jill Who had often taken time off work To look after her mother when she was ill The party was on monday night At the local social club Edith couldn't understand why that was the venue When Mary's son ran his own pub Then she suddenly remembered Rumours of a family feud Something about money loaned but never paid back Had prompted Mary's Will to be renewed Edith knew that Mary's other daughter Kim Wouldn't be invited to the party Because Mary was ashamed of her For dressing cheap and tarty Suddenly the phone rang It was Mary's daughter Jill She said "Are you coming to Mum's party? She really hopes you will" Edith was lost for words Then mumbled "We've never seen eye to eye" Jill shocked Edith to the core Saying "Mum wants to say her last goodbye. She's terminally ill and hasn't got long left. If you don't go to her party she will be bereft" Edith said that she would go If it meant so much to her mother She didn't dare to ask about Jill's sister and her brother On the morning of the party Edith didn't know what to wear But as long as she turned up Mary wouldn't really care When Edith arrived at Mary's party Jill took her to one side She said "I need to speak to you about mum, Before we go inside. Mum was shocked when i said you were coming After all the bad blood in the past She wants to call a truce Now she's on her last" Edith gave Jill a hug and said "I'm glad we can make amends, But it shouldn't take something like this To make us realise our true friends" Edith and Jill went into the party And Mary was the centre of attention There were so many guests They'd filtered out into the extension Mary was seated at the head table Downing a glass of brown ale The first thing Edith noticed Was that she suddenly looked so frail Mary placed her present on the table Then read the nice verse in Edith's card She said "I know we haven't got on in the past Coming here must have been very hard" Edith said she'd wanted to come There was nothing she'd rather do Mary could tell from Edith's expression Of her illness she already knew The icing on the cake had begun to melt It had been on the table for hours It was a handbag made of fondant Filled with edible flowers Someone suggested Mary should blow out the candles But that was a huge mistake She pursed her lips, blew and her dentures flew out Then landed upon the cake Everyone burst out laughing And Mary was wearing a big grin She calmly picked up her dentures And put them straight back in Reverend Smith ate peanuts from Mary's plate And said they were simply the best Mary told him that once she'd sucked off the chocolate She had to leave the rest The party was a great success And when Mary had said her goodbyes She looked at Edith who'd stayed behind With a wistful look in her eyes "I'm so glad that you came And that we've made amends If i hadn't been so judgemental We could have been really good friends" Mary took a sip of whiskey From a small monogrammed flask And Edith told her if she needed anything She only had to ask Jill told Edith her car was outside And if she needed a lift home she would take her Mary said "Goodbye, dear friend Soon i'll be off to meet my maker" Edith was lost for words And felt a tear run down her cheek Then said that they should meet for coffee Maybe sometime next week Jill drove Edith home And thanked her for being so nice Edith thought she'd repay her By giving her some good advice "Try not to bear grudges If you can make amends, don't wait Because one day you'll discover You've left it far too late"