At a Distance
He watched the boys run down the field. They were truly remarkable. Weaving in and out between each other, sprinting as hard as they could down a straight stretch, and stopping hard to reverse directions, these boys were truly athletes. The black and white ball bounced off of feet, flew through the air, and into the nets at different times. There was one boy in particular that was different from the rest. He was much stronger, faster, braver, more confident, and more agile then the rest. This kid was incredible to watch; an athlete who made the others appear dull even when they were not. His name was Aiden Lawrence. He was the Adonis of the school, and he knew it.
“Alright boys, let’s wrap it up for today, good work.”
The boys jogged back over to the benches and began to gather their belongings. Taking off sweaty jerseys and tossing them into bags, the boys began to walk off the field.
He watched the boys go and smiled wistfully, “Oh, and boys, I need those jerseys to actually be washed by next practice, ya know.”
The boys all laughed and shouted a chorus of “yes coach” and “we know."
He saw Aiden left behind, sitting on the bench, changing his shoes.
“Aiden, you were on fire today, you really looked great out there,” he said, beaming.
“Thanks coach, you really think so? I felt so in the game today. Like, we just were really connecting out there. You ever felt that way?” Aiden asked, grinning up at his mentor.
He nodded and laughed knowingly, “Yeah, I do. You seem really excited about today’s practice.”
“You don’t know the half of it coach,” Aiden said shaking his head.
“Oh, by the way Aiden, I have something in my office for you. Some sort of letter,” he said while putting a firm, and yet gentle, hand on Aiden’s shoulder.
“What’s it about?” Aiden said puzzled.
“Well, since opening it would be considered fraud because it’s addressed to you, I felt you should get the first glance at it,” he said smiling mischievously.
Aiden laughed and walked beside his coach, “I guess you’re right.”
As the two entered the school together, they made their way to the athletic office.
“It’s in this drawer somewhere, where did I put it?” he said milling through a top drawer.
“No big deal, memory loss happens with old age coach,” Aiden said, stifling a laugh.
“Well aren’t you just a comedian?” he said shaking his head.
“I’d like to think so,” Aiden said while turning to look at the many trophies along the walls. “Wow, you were pretty decent, huh coach?”
“I was a little more than that,” he said sarcasm lying within his voice.
Aiden became mesmerized with the various trophies along the walls on shelves, the plaques mounted everywhere, and photos of soccer teams in a wide array of uniform colors. He looked at each picture, finding his coach easily in every one; Aiden smiled.
“Ok, so you were pretty good,” Aiden said, shrugging his shoulders.
Suddenly, Aiden was constricted from behind and felt a cloth go over his mouth. He began to struggle and thrash, fighting his hardest. He coughed and gagged and did everything he could not to breath in the substance of the material. He soon felt his body begin to give in so he tried to cry out one last time. But at this point, his loudest shout was no louder than a whisper and he went slack in the man’s arms.
“Oh Aiden, I still am good.”
“Alright boys, let’s wrap it up for today, good work.”
The boys jogged back over to the benches and began to gather their belongings. Taking off sweaty jerseys and tossing them into bags, the boys began to walk off the field.
He watched the boys go and smiled wistfully, “Oh, and boys, I need those jerseys to actually be washed by next practice, ya know.”
The boys all laughed and shouted a chorus of “yes coach” and “we know."
He saw Aiden left behind, sitting on the bench, changing his shoes.
“Aiden, you were on fire today, you really looked great out there,” he said, beaming.
“Thanks coach, you really think so? I felt so in the game today. Like, we just were really connecting out there. You ever felt that way?” Aiden asked, grinning up at his mentor.
He nodded and laughed knowingly, “Yeah, I do. You seem really excited about today’s practice.”
“You don’t know the half of it coach,” Aiden said shaking his head.
“Oh, by the way Aiden, I have something in my office for you. Some sort of letter,” he said while putting a firm, and yet gentle, hand on Aiden’s shoulder.
“What’s it about?” Aiden said puzzled.
“Well, since opening it would be considered fraud because it’s addressed to you, I felt you should get the first glance at it,” he said smiling mischievously.
Aiden laughed and walked beside his coach, “I guess you’re right.”
As the two entered the school together, they made their way to the athletic office.
“It’s in this drawer somewhere, where did I put it?” he said milling through a top drawer.
“No big deal, memory loss happens with old age coach,” Aiden said, stifling a laugh.
“Well aren’t you just a comedian?” he said shaking his head.
“I’d like to think so,” Aiden said while turning to look at the many trophies along the walls. “Wow, you were pretty decent, huh coach?”
“I was a little more than that,” he said sarcasm lying within his voice.
Aiden became mesmerized with the various trophies along the walls on shelves, the plaques mounted everywhere, and photos of soccer teams in a wide array of uniform colors. He looked at each picture, finding his coach easily in every one; Aiden smiled.
“Ok, so you were pretty good,” Aiden said, shrugging his shoulders.
Suddenly, Aiden was constricted from behind and felt a cloth go over his mouth. He began to struggle and thrash, fighting his hardest. He coughed and gagged and did everything he could not to breath in the substance of the material. He soon felt his body begin to give in so he tried to cry out one last time. But at this point, his loudest shout was no louder than a whisper and he went slack in the man’s arms.
“Oh Aiden, I still am good.”
Sapphire Eyes
I could hear my mother’s voice echoing down the hallway. Her steps getting closer to me, and I can feel the moment her eyes meet my figure. I was still standing there in my bloody suit. She slowly put her arms around me and I immediately burst into tears, sobbing against her shoulder.
“They don’t know, Mom. They don’t know if she’ll make it.”
“She is going to be just fine, love,” my mother spoke to me, rubbing my back.
“How do you know?” I snap back wanting to believe her.
“She might seem vulnerable, but she is a fighter. No doubt about that. Come on, let’s go sit down,” she says managing to guide me away. She leads me to the private waiting room, where the rest of the wedding party sits quietly waiting and wondering. I curl up into my mom’s lap and before long was fast asleep.
I twiddled my thumbs as I got ready to see her emerge from the doors. The ode began and my heart jumped in my throat. It was about to happen. I was about to married to the woman I loved. That’s when I heard it. Even the sound of the organ couldn’t drown the gun shots.
I awoke with a jolt. The surgery was over. Luckily no major organs has been hit, but she lost a lot of blood. She was going to be in shock when she awoke. No doubt. She would be hazy from the painkillers. On the suggestion that I go home and get some rest, I look up to my mother, my eyes still wet with tears. “I won’t, Mom. I won’t go home. I’m staying here with her.” My mom looks up at the doctor, knowing I wouldn’t budge. Finally the doctor replies saying they’d put an extra bed in the recovery room. My mother looks at me and I give her a slight smile. “I knew I could stay, and that doctor couldn’t resist my charm,” I say trying to be funny to lighten my mood.
“Come on, honey,” my mom says nudging me, “It’s going to be another hour or so until they move her. Let’s go get you cleaned up and get some dinner in you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Will you at least eat something in the café here? I will bring you something to sleep in. I’m not going to try to make you leave because I know you won’t.”
“Deal.”
“Alright. I will back in an hour or two. I love you,” she says kissing my forehead goodbye. My eyes start to wander around the room. I see the white walls, and I try to locate a speck of dirt. Being unsuccessful, my ears pick up on the sound of the vending machines’ fans turning back on. Without much excitement, I decide that it might be a good time to rest my eyes.
The plane landed earlier then it was supposed to so I decided that I would go exploring while the other boys headed to the hotel to relax. It was Paris after all and even fame couldn’t dull the excitement of seeing the Parisian streets glisten. I started to walk down the street towards the Eiffel Tower. I kept my head down so people wouldn’t recognize me and surprisingly enough no one did or cared to say so if they did. I spotted a cozy looking café called Café Constant. I walked through the door and saw that there was only one girl sitting alone at a table in the corner. I found it shocking. I was in the heart of Paris! But then again, I wasn’t complaining. I was a celebrity after all and solitude was a rarity. I walked up to the counter and ordered myself a nice hot cup of tea before I headed over to the girl.
“Is this seat taken?’ I asked cunningly.
“No it isn’t.” the girl answered without looking up from her books.
“So do you come here often?” I asked, noticing the way her auburn hair laid perfectly along her slender shoulders.
“I come here almost everyday to get my work done,” the girl answered again, still without looking up, not even paying attention that someone was actually speaking English to her and not the typical French.
I noticed her American accent immediately and knew she must be an exchange student. “Where are you from?
“Hershey, Pennsylvania.”
“I did a concert there last summer. Lovely place, great chocolate,” I said. This made the girl look up from her book. I could tell that she recognized me.
“Lincoln,” she said with some hidden excitement in her voice
“Yup that’s me. May I ask your name?” I said trying to keep my excitement in as I saw her eyes sparkle like sapphires.
“Jacqueline.”
“It is nice to meet you, Jacqueline,” I said casually, pleasantly surprised that a fan could be this calm in my presence. She kept talking, but my mind started to drift of in the waves of her sapphire eyes.
I don't know how much time had gone by, but my mom pats me on the shoulder, guiding me to the room where the doctors had moved Jacqueline. My mother leaves to go home, but made sure she had my bloody clothes in her hands. Ryker walks into the recovery room shortly after my mother left, where I was sitting in a chair watching the slow rise and fall of Jacqueline’s chest. Ryker just sits down in another chair silently before speaking. “I had just seen her,” Ryker finally mutters, “She was stunning in that dress. Stunning. So in love with you. Then one minute, just barely one minute, and I see her. Like this.” Ryker finally cracks letting his own tears spill out. “I’m so sorry Lincoln. I’m so sorry.”
“The doctors say she’ll be okay. But all I see is her right now. She is so pale and this stupid machine,” I say motioning angrily to the monitor, “Her heart is so slow. I keep listening and sometimes I freak out because it sounds like it is flat lining.” The tears pool at the corner of my eyes yet again, but I sniffle to try to hold them back. I was trying to be hopeful, but all I felt was pessimism. The doctors couldn’t possibly be telling me the truth. “Thanks for being here, Ryker.”
“I’m here too,” Hendrix says poking his head in. I look back to see my best friend smiling at me sadly. The tears began to fall again, but I stand as he embraces me. “Anything you need Lincoln.”
“Here we brought you some things,” Hendrix says revealing a bag. “Just an extra pillow, blanket, some snacks. Your favorites. Just to get through the nights here.”
“Thanks. But I don’t know how well I’ll sleep. I’m worried sick.”
“Don’t worry. We will make some stops by,” Ryker said rubbing his shoulder, “Hendrix and I are staying right across the street.”
“Alright. We will circle back later. We just wanted to let you know we are only a phone call away,” Hendrix said as he grabs Ryker’s hand and waves goodbye. I sit back down again in the chair, the voices of my friends becoming less coherent as my mind wanders back.
I moved without thinking. I ran to the room. No. It couldn’t be. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. I entered the room to see a body on the ground, which vaguely appeared to look like my sister, Mya. I then saw what I feared. Blood staining the white dress that Jacqueline was wearing. Blood. Lots of blood. Ryker was holding her with tears in his eyes. I immediately replaced his arms, cradling Jacqueline in his arms.
I quickly snap back when the nurses come in and run some tests. Temperature. Blood Pressure. The usual. At approximately midnight, the doctor do one last check up to make sure all the procedures had gone well.
“Lincoln, I know it will be hard, but try to get some rest. She is recovering fine. Nurses will be in and out tonight to check on her. Don’t worry. She is under very heavy painkillers and might not wake up until morning,” the doctor said as he leaves the room. I refuse to go to sleep quite yet, but feel myself nodding off.
The doors were closed and that didn’t stop me from trying to push past, but all the boys held me back as I collapsed in their arms and just cried. My shirt covered in her blood. I couldn’t do anything. Mya had defeated me even though she was dead. I thought she was supposed to be my sister. I listened to the sirens drift off in the distance and the further they got, the more I felt like I had lost the one person I truly loved.
I didn’t know what time it was when I hear someone mutter my name. I am still sitting in the chair beside Jacqueline’s bed, when I hear the almost inaudible whisper escape her mouth and saw her eyes flicker up at me.
“Lincoln,” Jacqueline says weakly.
I am already up on my feet and softly holding her hand. “You’re awake,” I say grateful.
“I love you.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead, “I love you too.”
“Go to sleep, Linc,” she almost laughs, but was too weak to.
I smile gently. Only she could manage to say something like that in this situation. I walk to the other side of the room where the small portable bed was set up. I push the bed a tad closer to hers, and rest my body. I am close enough where I can reach out and grab her hand. I interlace my fingers in hers and she gives it the lightest of squeezes, which only reminds me of how much pain she would be in once all the painkillers wore off. Despite all of my efforts, I am unable to keep my eyes open, she was breathing beside me and that was enough hope for me to fall asleep.
I gazed across the back end of the studio. I didn’t see Jacqueline. I looked again and again. Something wasn’t right. The interviewer was trying to ask me another question, but everything seemed silent. Where did she go?
“Lincoln,” Hendrix nudged, “the question?”
“What question?”
“We’re in the middle of an interview.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t feel well. I have to go,” I said, bolting from my seat.
“Sorry folks, we are going to take a quick break. We’ll be back with some more questions with the boys and then we will move on to some of our big winners of tonight. Stay tuned!” The camera’s quickly turned off and Hendrix ran over to me as I was looking around the studio.
It is the only time I remember exactly. 3:47 am. Jacqueline wakes squeezing my hand tight. She is in hysterics.
“Lincoln, Lincoln, it hurts,” Jacqueline says breaking out into a cold sweat. “What exactly happened? Why does my side hurt? Why am I here? I should be getting ready for the wedding. We’re getting married today right?”
So many questions spilling out of her mouth as I try to wipe the tears away spilling from her cheeks as she felt the freshly stitched wound. “Lincoln?”
“Jacqueline, love. You…you were shot by Mya. Right before walking down the aisle. We didn’t get married,” I say as she looks at me with blank eyes. I remember the nightmares Jacqueline had after her fight with Mya. This was much worse than that ever was.
“No,” Jacqueline replies as her lip quiver. She sobs heavily against my chest. “No. No. No.”
“Shhh. Shh. It doesn’t matter. You are alive. That’s all that matters,” I say patting her forehead with a cool towel. “Come on. Go back to sleep. You need the rest.”
But her hysterics start again and her breathing is hitching. Panicked. The nurses soon enter pushing me away as they reissue more painkillers and lay her back down, pushing back her dampened strands of hair off her forehead. Once the nurses got her heart rate back to a normal pace and ran a small checkup, they finally spoke to me.
“This could happen from time to time. She won’t remember right away. It can be hard for people. If you need to ever leave, we understand.” I understood alright. If only they knew the things we had to battle as a celebrity couple.
“I won’t be leaving,” I say stubbornly. “I can handle it. She needs me here.”
“At least go back to sleep,” the nurse replies leaving to attend to other patients.
I curled back up on my bed, but I was unable to sleep. I just stared at the ceiling wondering when I could leave this cold and dark hospital with Jacqueline in my arms.
* * *
“That is what happened on the first time your grandmother and I tried to get married,” I say to our grandchildren during their weekly story time.
“Why did you end up getting married after all of that?” one of my grandkids questions.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Jacqueline answers as she grasped me hand.
“But was it all worth it?” the other asks.
“Worth it! Of course it was worth it” is all I could say, but I will never forget seeing her eyes that first time in Paris, and then that day in the hospital, it reminded me that I could have missed them so easily in the crowds of fans around me. There are so many things I took for granted. But she certainly was a gift that I didn’t deserve but am so glad that I received.
“They don’t know, Mom. They don’t know if she’ll make it.”
“She is going to be just fine, love,” my mother spoke to me, rubbing my back.
“How do you know?” I snap back wanting to believe her.
“She might seem vulnerable, but she is a fighter. No doubt about that. Come on, let’s go sit down,” she says managing to guide me away. She leads me to the private waiting room, where the rest of the wedding party sits quietly waiting and wondering. I curl up into my mom’s lap and before long was fast asleep.
I twiddled my thumbs as I got ready to see her emerge from the doors. The ode began and my heart jumped in my throat. It was about to happen. I was about to married to the woman I loved. That’s when I heard it. Even the sound of the organ couldn’t drown the gun shots.
I awoke with a jolt. The surgery was over. Luckily no major organs has been hit, but she lost a lot of blood. She was going to be in shock when she awoke. No doubt. She would be hazy from the painkillers. On the suggestion that I go home and get some rest, I look up to my mother, my eyes still wet with tears. “I won’t, Mom. I won’t go home. I’m staying here with her.” My mom looks up at the doctor, knowing I wouldn’t budge. Finally the doctor replies saying they’d put an extra bed in the recovery room. My mother looks at me and I give her a slight smile. “I knew I could stay, and that doctor couldn’t resist my charm,” I say trying to be funny to lighten my mood.
“Come on, honey,” my mom says nudging me, “It’s going to be another hour or so until they move her. Let’s go get you cleaned up and get some dinner in you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Will you at least eat something in the café here? I will bring you something to sleep in. I’m not going to try to make you leave because I know you won’t.”
“Deal.”
“Alright. I will back in an hour or two. I love you,” she says kissing my forehead goodbye. My eyes start to wander around the room. I see the white walls, and I try to locate a speck of dirt. Being unsuccessful, my ears pick up on the sound of the vending machines’ fans turning back on. Without much excitement, I decide that it might be a good time to rest my eyes.
The plane landed earlier then it was supposed to so I decided that I would go exploring while the other boys headed to the hotel to relax. It was Paris after all and even fame couldn’t dull the excitement of seeing the Parisian streets glisten. I started to walk down the street towards the Eiffel Tower. I kept my head down so people wouldn’t recognize me and surprisingly enough no one did or cared to say so if they did. I spotted a cozy looking café called Café Constant. I walked through the door and saw that there was only one girl sitting alone at a table in the corner. I found it shocking. I was in the heart of Paris! But then again, I wasn’t complaining. I was a celebrity after all and solitude was a rarity. I walked up to the counter and ordered myself a nice hot cup of tea before I headed over to the girl.
“Is this seat taken?’ I asked cunningly.
“No it isn’t.” the girl answered without looking up from her books.
“So do you come here often?” I asked, noticing the way her auburn hair laid perfectly along her slender shoulders.
“I come here almost everyday to get my work done,” the girl answered again, still without looking up, not even paying attention that someone was actually speaking English to her and not the typical French.
I noticed her American accent immediately and knew she must be an exchange student. “Where are you from?
“Hershey, Pennsylvania.”
“I did a concert there last summer. Lovely place, great chocolate,” I said. This made the girl look up from her book. I could tell that she recognized me.
“Lincoln,” she said with some hidden excitement in her voice
“Yup that’s me. May I ask your name?” I said trying to keep my excitement in as I saw her eyes sparkle like sapphires.
“Jacqueline.”
“It is nice to meet you, Jacqueline,” I said casually, pleasantly surprised that a fan could be this calm in my presence. She kept talking, but my mind started to drift of in the waves of her sapphire eyes.
I don't know how much time had gone by, but my mom pats me on the shoulder, guiding me to the room where the doctors had moved Jacqueline. My mother leaves to go home, but made sure she had my bloody clothes in her hands. Ryker walks into the recovery room shortly after my mother left, where I was sitting in a chair watching the slow rise and fall of Jacqueline’s chest. Ryker just sits down in another chair silently before speaking. “I had just seen her,” Ryker finally mutters, “She was stunning in that dress. Stunning. So in love with you. Then one minute, just barely one minute, and I see her. Like this.” Ryker finally cracks letting his own tears spill out. “I’m so sorry Lincoln. I’m so sorry.”
“The doctors say she’ll be okay. But all I see is her right now. She is so pale and this stupid machine,” I say motioning angrily to the monitor, “Her heart is so slow. I keep listening and sometimes I freak out because it sounds like it is flat lining.” The tears pool at the corner of my eyes yet again, but I sniffle to try to hold them back. I was trying to be hopeful, but all I felt was pessimism. The doctors couldn’t possibly be telling me the truth. “Thanks for being here, Ryker.”
“I’m here too,” Hendrix says poking his head in. I look back to see my best friend smiling at me sadly. The tears began to fall again, but I stand as he embraces me. “Anything you need Lincoln.”
“Here we brought you some things,” Hendrix says revealing a bag. “Just an extra pillow, blanket, some snacks. Your favorites. Just to get through the nights here.”
“Thanks. But I don’t know how well I’ll sleep. I’m worried sick.”
“Don’t worry. We will make some stops by,” Ryker said rubbing his shoulder, “Hendrix and I are staying right across the street.”
“Alright. We will circle back later. We just wanted to let you know we are only a phone call away,” Hendrix said as he grabs Ryker’s hand and waves goodbye. I sit back down again in the chair, the voices of my friends becoming less coherent as my mind wanders back.
I moved without thinking. I ran to the room. No. It couldn’t be. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. I entered the room to see a body on the ground, which vaguely appeared to look like my sister, Mya. I then saw what I feared. Blood staining the white dress that Jacqueline was wearing. Blood. Lots of blood. Ryker was holding her with tears in his eyes. I immediately replaced his arms, cradling Jacqueline in his arms.
I quickly snap back when the nurses come in and run some tests. Temperature. Blood Pressure. The usual. At approximately midnight, the doctor do one last check up to make sure all the procedures had gone well.
“Lincoln, I know it will be hard, but try to get some rest. She is recovering fine. Nurses will be in and out tonight to check on her. Don’t worry. She is under very heavy painkillers and might not wake up until morning,” the doctor said as he leaves the room. I refuse to go to sleep quite yet, but feel myself nodding off.
The doors were closed and that didn’t stop me from trying to push past, but all the boys held me back as I collapsed in their arms and just cried. My shirt covered in her blood. I couldn’t do anything. Mya had defeated me even though she was dead. I thought she was supposed to be my sister. I listened to the sirens drift off in the distance and the further they got, the more I felt like I had lost the one person I truly loved.
I didn’t know what time it was when I hear someone mutter my name. I am still sitting in the chair beside Jacqueline’s bed, when I hear the almost inaudible whisper escape her mouth and saw her eyes flicker up at me.
“Lincoln,” Jacqueline says weakly.
I am already up on my feet and softly holding her hand. “You’re awake,” I say grateful.
“I love you.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead, “I love you too.”
“Go to sleep, Linc,” she almost laughs, but was too weak to.
I smile gently. Only she could manage to say something like that in this situation. I walk to the other side of the room where the small portable bed was set up. I push the bed a tad closer to hers, and rest my body. I am close enough where I can reach out and grab her hand. I interlace my fingers in hers and she gives it the lightest of squeezes, which only reminds me of how much pain she would be in once all the painkillers wore off. Despite all of my efforts, I am unable to keep my eyes open, she was breathing beside me and that was enough hope for me to fall asleep.
I gazed across the back end of the studio. I didn’t see Jacqueline. I looked again and again. Something wasn’t right. The interviewer was trying to ask me another question, but everything seemed silent. Where did she go?
“Lincoln,” Hendrix nudged, “the question?”
“What question?”
“We’re in the middle of an interview.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t feel well. I have to go,” I said, bolting from my seat.
“Sorry folks, we are going to take a quick break. We’ll be back with some more questions with the boys and then we will move on to some of our big winners of tonight. Stay tuned!” The camera’s quickly turned off and Hendrix ran over to me as I was looking around the studio.
It is the only time I remember exactly. 3:47 am. Jacqueline wakes squeezing my hand tight. She is in hysterics.
“Lincoln, Lincoln, it hurts,” Jacqueline says breaking out into a cold sweat. “What exactly happened? Why does my side hurt? Why am I here? I should be getting ready for the wedding. We’re getting married today right?”
So many questions spilling out of her mouth as I try to wipe the tears away spilling from her cheeks as she felt the freshly stitched wound. “Lincoln?”
“Jacqueline, love. You…you were shot by Mya. Right before walking down the aisle. We didn’t get married,” I say as she looks at me with blank eyes. I remember the nightmares Jacqueline had after her fight with Mya. This was much worse than that ever was.
“No,” Jacqueline replies as her lip quiver. She sobs heavily against my chest. “No. No. No.”
“Shhh. Shh. It doesn’t matter. You are alive. That’s all that matters,” I say patting her forehead with a cool towel. “Come on. Go back to sleep. You need the rest.”
But her hysterics start again and her breathing is hitching. Panicked. The nurses soon enter pushing me away as they reissue more painkillers and lay her back down, pushing back her dampened strands of hair off her forehead. Once the nurses got her heart rate back to a normal pace and ran a small checkup, they finally spoke to me.
“This could happen from time to time. She won’t remember right away. It can be hard for people. If you need to ever leave, we understand.” I understood alright. If only they knew the things we had to battle as a celebrity couple.
“I won’t be leaving,” I say stubbornly. “I can handle it. She needs me here.”
“At least go back to sleep,” the nurse replies leaving to attend to other patients.
I curled back up on my bed, but I was unable to sleep. I just stared at the ceiling wondering when I could leave this cold and dark hospital with Jacqueline in my arms.
* * *
“That is what happened on the first time your grandmother and I tried to get married,” I say to our grandchildren during their weekly story time.
“Why did you end up getting married after all of that?” one of my grandkids questions.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Jacqueline answers as she grasped me hand.
“But was it all worth it?” the other asks.
“Worth it! Of course it was worth it” is all I could say, but I will never forget seeing her eyes that first time in Paris, and then that day in the hospital, it reminded me that I could have missed them so easily in the crowds of fans around me. There are so many things I took for granted. But she certainly was a gift that I didn’t deserve but am so glad that I received.