A Candle on the Table

Three elderly women meet at a lunch table on their first day in a home for senior citizens. A candle placed there by the matron awakens different memories in each. To the frivolous, friendly ex-actress Maribeth Garrity, candles belong with champagne and flowers. To Miss Tolliver, a children's nursemaid, they speak of childhood poverty when candles gave the only light. To the aristocratic Mrs. Bramson, they mean the formal meals which only emphasized the emptiness of her life. The lunchtime conversation reveals some surprising aspects of the lives and personalities of the three women, and culminates in a friendship and an affirmative decision. Sensitively drawn characters, gentle humor, and a generous dash of truth.