Once in a Lifetime

Once in a Lifetime

He had been outside tending to the flower beds that were so important to her, in another lifetime. He wiped the sweat from his brow and with an unsteady gait, walked into the sitting room where he could watch her. She was sitting in her rocker, handmade by him, staring out the window as was her custom at this time of day.

 He sat in his easy chair and closed his weary eyes. He remembered the day he first laid eyes on her over forty- one years ago. She was beautiful in spirit. A real lady. She had been a visitor at his church. The church he had attended most of his life, as had his parents and grandparents before him. She had been with some vague acquaintances that he had only spoken to a few times and could not even remember their names. How he had wished he had paid more attention to those around him.

She looked at him and the connection was instant. He slowly walked in her direction, his eyes never moving from hers, and when he reached her, she took his hand and introduced herself. She seemed to be aware that he did not know her friends even though they were a part of the same church. She was intuitive that way and she had not wanted to embarrass him.

From that day on, they had been an item. Spending time together, laughing, loving, and eventually marrying. She had been a teacher in the local school and he had made a living as a salesman at the local furniture store. On the side, he did carpentry, making some beautiful pieces of furniture that he sold as custom work for those in his small town.

When the time came, they started a family. Two sons and a daughter. After their first child was born, she stopped working to stay at home and raise her family. That was how things had been in the olden days. Not so much anymore. Now it took both husband and wife working outside the home just to make ends meet. They had lost their daughter to polio when she was eight years old. His wife had been devastated for months and he had taken on the raising of the two boys. But her faith had always been strong and she pulled through. Life went on as usual, for the boys and for him.

As the boys grew into strong men, they had been drafted into the war. Their oldest son never made it back home having been killed in action by friendly fire as it were. That had been a bitter pill to swallow for them both and it was several years before life returned to normal. Their younger son married and raised a family of his own halfway across the country. They received pictures of their grandchildren and letters from their son and daughter in law, but they would have loved to have been closer to them. So as they began the golden years of their life together. It was just the two of them, just as they had started out.

She was still beautiful in spirit and strong in her faith. He wished he was as resilient as she back in the day. They moved out to the country where they had a vegetable garden and a flower garden as well. Gardening was her specialty and her vegetables always placed in the county fair each year, sometimes winning the top prize. She loved to garden, almost as much as he loved his carpentry work. They took ballroom dancing lessons together and he had to say, they made a dashing couple on the dance floor. They had many friends and their church family as well, but enjoying each other had been what they loved most.

Sadly, as they grew older, life had started to become more difficult. They developed some health issues, he with heart problems and she with her memory. At first it was little things with her forgetting the mail or to pick up the dry cleaning. Then one day she left the stove on and a small fire started. She had been asleep in another room at the time and nearly died of smoke inhalation. He, on the other hand, would take care of himself for a while and then revert back to old habits that were better off left alone. She had kept him on track until she could no longer do so. His body was failing, but his mind was strong. Her body was strong but her mind was failing.

The thing that never changed was the love he had for her. He would have done anything to change the course that her life had taken. Watching the light dwindle out of her eyes, and as the disease progressed, the change in her personality was almost more than he could bear. She became combative at times not knowing who he was. He thought that was the hardest to understand and live with. Still, he took the best care he could of her. They had been together for forty years and had promised to love one another until death would part them.

 He opened his eyes and knew right away that something was different. She was looking at him. Her eyes, that were usually blank, were alive with memories, with promises, with hope. He slowly stood and walked toward her. When he was at her side, she took his hand, never looking away from him. His heart swelled with emotion. Still holding her hand, he helped her to stand. She was still beautiful. He picked her up and carried her into the room they had shared these last forty years. He laid her on the bed covered in the quilt she had so painstakingly made the first year of their marriage. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and said his name. He took his hand and smoothed the hair from her face as he gathered her close to his heart. It is time she said. He kissed her lips and she touched his face. In that brief moment he understood the true meaning of making love. His soul was on fire with love for this woman, his wife, his best friend. He could feel her spirit leaving and he knew the moment when she was gone. He closed her eyes and knew his life would change forever, but nothing could ever take away the life they had shared. It was real and true and forever branded in his heart and soul.

He felt tears run down his face and put his cheek to hers. She had a single tear that had leaked from her eye as well and he felt some kind of comfort as their tears blended together. Just like their love and their lives had done. She was gone and he did not know how he would carry on. He felt a heaviness descend upon him and at the same time a lightening of his spirit. He was not sure what it meant but he knew all was well. He took her face in his hands and kissed her one last time. He lay back on the bed next to her and breathed his last. And their love was united forever in spirit and in truth just as they had lived their lives for all those years. A love that comes along once in a lifetime.