Howdy Folks,
This is a short story I wrote for a contest. The first sentence had to be, "The lights went out." It's about the innocence of love. I hope you enjoy.
"The Lights Went
Out"
The lights went
out as just as she raised the wine glass in a salute to her reflection in the
wine bottle. That's okay, it would be easier to remember him in the dark. She
thought of his brown shining eyes and how they'd always warmed her when she lost
herself in them. The way they glistened when he smiled. No matter the situation
those eyes had never failed to reassure her. To comfort her. She took a sip and
ran a quivering finger around the rim of the glass.
They say the first
anniversary is the worst. She laughed. Who are they, and did they ever go
through it or are they just the appointed ones who tell everyone how and what
to feel without having a clue of the richness of love.
He'd been gone three months now and tomorrow would have been their fifth
anniversary … and his twenty-ninth birthday. Peter loved to celebrate his
birthday. She felt the corners of her mouth curve. He'd always wanted to open
his present before going to work. Peter made a big deal about everybody's
birthday that's why it had been so natural, and fun, to be married on his.
A loud blast of
rain pelted the kitchen window and a brief flash of lightning lit the room to
shine on his present waiting on the table.
The room seemed darker after the
flash. She touched the bow on the box, then pulled it to her. He sure would
have gotten a kick out of this year's present. She'd bought it six months ago,
a little bottle of beach sand with a tiny mermaid inside perched on driftwood.
A Kansas boy, Peter had never seen the beach. She had planned to fix that this
year. In the bottom of the box lay all the paperwork and a brochure from the
Anchor Kitchen bed and breakfast.
Some people are
given a lifetime to share together. Some never find their soul mate. She and
Peter were perfect together and they new it the instant they met. All their
friends said so. She grinned when she thought of girlfriends' frequent threats
to steal him away. Jealousy gripped her as she thought evil thoughts about how
unfair it was to give them such a short time together.
Her throat tightened,
her eyes let go a stream of tears as she cursed God for creating the perfect
match … and then tearing it apart. How could he? Why would he? She gulped a
swallow of wine and ground the heels of her hands in her eyes, "What am I
supposed to do now?"
She looked around
the kitchen, in the flashes she saw his boots sitting on the mat by the door.
She hadn't been able to put them away. Hadn't been able to deal with much that
she should have by now. Take it day by day, they say.
Day by day. That
made her smile. Peter had said that too. On their wedding night when she was so
scared she started to cry and she'd asked, "What are we going to do
now?" She remembered his confident smile when he told her, "I guess
we'll take it day by day."
"That was
Peter," she told the darkness. "Count on him to make everything
alright." She poured some wine and through blurry eyes asked his boots,
"How do we make this alright? What do I do now Peter?" She dropped
her head onto her arms and sobbed. "I don't know what to do." Her
voice broke as she begged. "Tell me what to do … Where do I start?"
A thunderclap so
loud it rattled the house preceded a burst of light brighter than any before
it. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness she noticed a hint of morning's
glow in the kitchen window.
Shuffling tiny
feet turned her toward the living room doorway. "That was a loud one
Mommy!" Their daughter announced as she scrambled toward her. "Today
is Daddy's birthday! Can we open his present for him? If we hold it up really
high will he be able to see it from Heaven?"
Gitty Up,
Dutch Henry
Oh wow, Dutch! What a story, and thanks for sharing it with us all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Odee ... Make ya tear up a little did it?
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