It was the night of their junior prom and Reggie Whitaker had been
locked in a loving embrace with his high school sweetheart Ana, for most of the
evening. They’d started dating at the beginning of the school year and were
inseparable from then on. Their love was sweet and true; despite their young
ages—it was real and they knew it.
They’d simply fallen in love.
Reggie, with his dark brown hair and sweet blue eyes looked deeply into
Ana’s and became locked in an endless serenity of passion and awe. Each song
rolled into the next, but they barely noticed anyone else in the room. Many would have loved to cut in, but nobody
dared break the inseparable bond.
Ana’s long blonde hair draped sweetly over her soft shoulders with
dazzling golden ringlets that danced along with her. The pieces pulled up were enlaced with baby’s
breath. She was beautiful, smelled so good and her loving touch made him
groan ‘silently’, but he deeply wanted to be with her. Had they been alone, the dance floor would
surely have become a labor of love. He
could barely refrain himself. His heart pitter-pattered eagerly in his chest
and he could feel it beating in sequence with hers; or, so it felt. Every moment was mesmerizing and
perfect. It had been everything a prom
should be. Spectacular and forever
etched in his memory. He couldn’t think of anything that that would surpass
this amazing moment.
He wasn’t one for putting on a tux, but he wore it for Ana. He looked
incredibly handsome. His handsome,
rugged looks made her smile. He was an
avid baseball player and his youthful, physical physique accentuated his
manliness. He wasn’t overly buffed, but
his biceps offered a sense of security and strength which she favored greatly.
Ana wore a long red satin dress with embossed rosettes and glittering
sequence.
Her poise and beauty astounded him and he wanted it to last forever.
Yet, despite their magical evening, many times he noticed a slight distance in
her. Something was bothering her.
And she was holding back. Ana had something to tell him that would not
make either of them happy, but she didn’t want to ruin their coveted
moment. She cared for him deeply, but
knew that after this night things would change between them forever.
As the evening came to an end Reggie walked Ana up to her door and
prepared to kiss her good-night. As he attempted to do so, the tears in
her eyes began to fall. This alarmed
him.
“I knew something was bothering you…” he said. “What’s wrong? Did I do
something to hurt you?”
Her lip began to quiver and the tears began to fall.
“Was it something I said?”
“No, no…nothing like that,” she affirmed. “You’ve been the perfect
gentleman tonight…as always.”
“Then what is it?”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I care so much for you Reggie…I do…”
“I care for you too…”
“I know. That’s why this is so hard…”
“Are you breaking up with me?” he asked.
“I don’t want to…” she sniffed. “Oh Reggie…”
“I’m confused.”
“It’s my father…” she explained. “He’s gotten a new job. A great
opportunity. He’s been made CEO of the corporation…”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“It is…except…”
Reggie looked deeply into her tear filled eyes. “He’s going to be able
to work here in Virginia, right?”
She shook her head no.
“Where?”
“We’re moving…”
“How far?”
“Santiago.”
“Santiago!” his jaw dropped. “That’s clear across the country!”
“I know…” she sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to his breast.
Reggie worked desperately to calm her before asking…
“We’ll keep in touch, right?”
“Yes, but…”
“No buts Ana, we’ll make it work! You’ll see.”
***
The move had been really tough on both of them, and for many years they
did their best to keep in touch. They
kept their communication open by way of the phone - whenever possible - and
they wrote letters weekly. Yet, as they moved from high school to college,
their ability to stay connected became increasingly difficult with their busy
lives.
They had sincerely done
everything possible to keep in touch, but despite their failing hearts… time
simply moved on.
Reggie had gotten a baseball scholarship and was able to attend Harvard,
in Cambridge, MA and completed his degree in business law. Ana settled into a California school, and
successfully graduated top of her class with her MBA.
It was almost perfect… Almost.
They’d simply failed to
‘keep in touch’ and their love had fallen to the wayside.
In his second year at
Harvard, Reggie had met Ruth. She was beautiful and charming; undeniably
adorable. They clicked immediately.
Ana later met Carl
Johnson whom she married one month after graduation.
Neither Reggie nor Ana
had intended on losing touch or having their lives to take such unexpected
directions, but neither had been disappointed with the lives they’d found.
Acceptance was hard, but life happened and that was that.
Before they knew it time had marched on. Their lives moved faster and
faster as the days turned into weeks, weeks into years, and years turned into
kids, cars, mortgage, and careers. In a
blink, a quarter of a century had flown by and the silver in their hair was
evident to their matured years.
And yet despite the marvels of hair coloring and ant-wrinkle cream, life
had been pretty good for both of them. They had no regrets.
The antique mantel clock ticked arrogantly as it accompanied the sounds
of the machines beeping to the rhythm of Ruth Whitaker’s lifeline. After seven
long, painful months of radiation and chemotherapy treatments, she had withered
from a once glamorous and elegant executive down to a measly 79 pounds
skeleton.
She clung weakly to the warm loving hand of her husband as she struggled
to breathe. The machines were doing most of the work for her now, but she
continued to focus on being strong for her family. Reginald was proud to see
that his children had come to be with them in this dark hour, but knew the time
was close. Too close.
Reginald and Ruth had just celebrated twenty-seven years of marriage and
the arrival of their second grandchild, when Ruth was diagnosed with breast
cancer. She’d gone through all the
treatment, had both breasts removed, lost all her hair, and was declared to be
in remission. But it was short lived.
Only two months after they’d discharged her, the cancer had returned
with a vengeance. This time it had consumed the life of her pancreas and
uterus. While a hysterectomy might have
been a successful alternative, the pancreatic cancer was deemed terminal and
the only thing to do now was live what days she had left loving the life she
had. The family was dedicated to providing Ruth with the quality of days she
had left.
She took advantage of visiting a few places with Reginald and her
children in the early phases of her sickness.
She enjoyed holding her daughter’s babies and was elated to learn her
son William would also be making her a grandmother. Although, she feared that meeting would not
take place.
Knowing that she had a limited time, she took control of a bucket list
and with the aid of her friends and family, she was able to embrace many joys.
Then, just seven weeks ago, the cancer had spread to her lungs, and liver. One large massive tumorous piece of evil was
engulfing the life of this wife and mother.
It pained Reginald to see her life slip away so senselessly. She would muster a smile whenever a glimmer
of strength emerged, but each day had become more and more of a fight. He skin was pale, yellow, and grey. The fingernails on her hands and toes were
turning blackish blue and every breath brought her agony. The morphine was the only comfort she had
from the pain.
Amber, their eldest took the responsibility of caring for her parents
seriously. And while she was a mother now too, she was not about to leave their
side when they needed her most. They’d had a great family life and Amber
had no regrets spending this time on them. Ruth was thrilled to see her first
grandchild. William had brought a love to her world she embraced full
heartedly. She longed to see more grandchildren, but it would not be.
Robert, their eldest son, had flown back to Pennsylvania from his big
law firm in Memphis. His wife stayed back, nurturing their unborn child.
The time had come to say good-bye; and while it was all she could do to
say she loved them, the family knew her suffering would soon be over.
She squeezed Reggie’s hand and painfully whispered, “Find happiness
Reggie. I want you to find happiness.” She struggled with her words, and gasped
painfully as she gripped his hand. He raised her hand to his lips and
gently kissed it tenderly.
As he held it against his lips, the hand became limp and heavy.
Then, looking back down upon his wife’s pale face, his heart gripped his chest.
Amber, embraced her father, followed by Robert and William. Ruth was gone.
Powerless to do anything more, the family released into one another the sorrow
and pain of a loss so tender.
THREE
While the family clung in grief, the memories of the past thirty years
flooded Reginald’s mind. The day they’d met on campus, she was carrying a tiny
black brief case that was bursting at the seams with books. Her cute, bouncy
step caught his eye. As she struggled
with the case, she lost her grip and the books and papers scattered to the
floor.
“Oh my!” she groaned.
Snickering for a
moment—secretly of course—Reginald loved watching the damsel as she distressed
over her material. Then as a gust of
wind began to carry off the papers, he leaped into action and began to assist
in catching the loose material. With some leaps and bounds of awkward attempts,
Ruth watched with amusement.
“You look like a
drunken gazelle!” she snickered.
“Oh gee...thanks,” he
huffed.
“I’m sorry…” she said,
trying not to let her snicker show. “You
just looked so funny leaping to and fro like that.”
Out of breath, he
handed her the last of her papers and said.
“Well, I was just trying to help…”
“Yes…thank you. I needed it,” she admitted.
“Glad to be of
service…” he said. Reginald felt nervous
and awkward. His feelings for Ana hadn’t
disappeared so much, as they simply hadn’t had a chance to grow further. Now, before him stood a beautiful brunette
with stunningly gorgeous brown eyes. “My goodness!” he exclaimed.
“What?” she replied
with concern.
“Oh…it’s just your
eyes…” he said bashfully. “They’re just
the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“Bet you use that on
all the girls, don’t you?”
“Indeed I do not!” he
replied firmly.
She was surprised at
how confident he was in his reply. “Well
then…thank-you…uh….”
“Reggie,” he said.
“Okay Reggie, I guess I
owe you a coffee, huh?”
“Well…ah….”
“Ruth,” she said,
extending her hand warmly.
“Okay Ruth,” he said. He tried to appear confident and sure, but
truthfully, he was scared to death.
“Would you let me take you to dinner?”
“Dinner? I can’t
tonight…” she said.
“Oh.” Reginald looked
disappointed. ‘Crash and burn’ he
thought to himself. ‘I’ve made a fool out of myself!’
“Sure, I’d love to go
for dinner…..say… Saturday night?” she said with a warm smile.
“Really? O…kay…great!”
he was shocked, but definitely thrilled. “I’ll pick you up at six o’clock?”
“That sounds great!”
***
His mind returned to the moment at hand and looked back down at the
fragmented shell of a woman he’d had to let go. He grabbed her cold hand and
gripped it in agony. “Oh my gosh!” he cried. “Why did you have to leave me
Ruth? Why!?” the groan of his cry burned like coals into the hearts of his
kids. They loved their mother, but had
been glad to see her relieved of pain.
Now they would have to help their father with his pain.
“Oh daddy!” Amber said.
Robert took charge of
calling the coroner and began making the necessary plans to move his mother’s
body to the morgue. William began
calling the friends and family who’d been awaiting this terrible call for
months. But not Amber, she wouldn’t leave her father’s side.
Gary, Amber’s husband
had taken the girls to the park down the street, but knew what had occurred
when he walked up the street and saw the death vehicle parked in the
driveway. William was sitting on the
porch with his, Jessie the golden retriever.
“Can I leave the girls
with you Will?” Gary asked.
Will nodded. To ensure their safety during the commotion,
he took them to the back yard to play in the sand box.
Then Gary went inside
and saw the sorrow in his wife’s face. She was nurturing her father as he
continued to sob desperately. Gary was without words. The coroner had been
waiting to remove the body, but it had been nearly impossible to pry Reggie
from his wife’s side.
Amber looked to Gary
for help.
“Come Mr. Whitaker,
let’s go to the kitchen…” he coaxed.
“I can’t leave her!”
“Dad…” Robert
interjected. “It’s time to let her go…”
Reggie knew the day was
approaching, he’d known it for months; he knew she was in pain, but somehow
he’d kept the final scene distant from his thoughts. Now the reality had come and it was more than
he could bear.
“Come Daddy…” Amber
said softly. “The coroner needs to take her now.”
Reggie reluctantly left
with his children and went into the kitchen, where he’d wait for them to remove
her body from his home. The last time
he’d ever see her face. Before he left the room, he bent and kissed her cold
brow tenderly. “Good-bye my love…” his lip quivered feverishly as he tried to
stand strong.
With numb legs and a
wounded heart, Reggie walked with his children to the kitchen where Amber
proceeded to fix him a cup of tea; as his mind wandered from their presence.
His eyes became fixed upon Ruth’s chair as he recalled many meals around
this old table. The reel of their lives together began to unfold.
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