In a small and crowded foyer I bump into an acquaintance ('a person known slightly esp. falling short of intimacy' Chambers English Dictionary). We make small talk. I notice that his female companion is seated with two crutches by her side. She wears a large knitted slipper instead of a left shoe. I ask briefly about her accident and then move onto her middle name. She tells me it is with an 'i' because her mother preferred it that way.
There is a pause. Then, unasked, she proffers, 'If you want a story attached to it, I used not to know how to spell it'. I appreciate her goodwill and ask her to elaborate. She tells me that she had to witness a wedding when she was eleven or twelve (we both noted but glossed over the peculiarity of this fact). It was the first time she had been asked to write her whole name and she didn't know how to spell the middle. Cleverly, she resolved the situation by smudging the ink with her thumb.
Returning to my friend ('a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard' www.dictionary.com), I thank her for her help and say I hope to see them both soon.
I didn't ask at what age she did learn the spelling.
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