The tiny room seemed to be closing in on Calvin Jones and with each beep of the machine that sat next him another part of him died. His world had stopped spinning nine days earlier. When he looked down at his sweet Ellie lying lifeless in the hospital bed, the pain began to settle in the deepest part of his heart. He could feel the knot begin to form in his throat but with a slight shake of his head he was able to keep the tears at bay. He had been sitting in this chair so often over the last nine days that the leather had begun to wear off. Calvin cradled his head in his hands, his elbows propped on his knees.
Where are you God? I need you now. He heard nothing.
Ellie’s frail hands were laying at her sides. The glint of light from her left hand caught Calvin’s eye. Had it really been fifty six years since they said I do? He still wondered how he managed to win a woman like her. The first time he saw her, over sixty years ago now, she was walking through the door of American Literature 113, he knew then that he was in trouble. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His heart was beating out of his chest when she sat down right beside of him. He was sure she could see it from underneath his shirt. She looked over at him and a smile lit up her face.
“Hi, I’m Eleanor but you can call me Ellie.” Calvin’s tongue felt swollen in his mouth. Was she talking to him? Of course she was, she was looking right at him.
“Oh I’m Calvin. Nice to meet you, Ellie.” She smiled at him again which made him feel all warm inside. Her long brown hair framed her tan face and her green eyes popped out from beneath her black lashes. She pulled her books out of her bag; the movement caused her scent to make its way toward Calvin. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. As Ellie went on talking about the horror stories she had heard about Mr. Jones, Calvin noticed the small freckle that sat on the left tip of her top lip and the way she crinkled her nose when she laughed. She laughed so easily and made Calvin smile without effort.
By the end of the month he had finally built up the courage to ask Ellie out. He still wasn’t sure how they ended up at Denny’s but she didn’t seem to mind. The first date turned into a second and the second turned into many more. Soon after I love you was exchanged and there was no turning back.
The next three years went by in a wonderful blur. They were full of love and laughter. She became the center of his world; not only the love of his life, but she was his very best friend. They shared all of their secrets with each other, their hopes and dreams and they promised to build a future together. Ellie was so different. She had the purest heart of anyone Calvin had ever met, she lived and loved to the fullest, and she never stayed down for long. Ellie had a beautiful way of always taking care of those around her and Calvin never had to question his position in her life.
The beeping of the machine pulled Calvin out of his happy thoughts of the past and back to this awful room.
“Hey my little peach. I miss you so much.” An unexpected sob robbed Calvin of his breath and he had to pause. He couldn’t hold the tears this time. “Elli, sweetheart I need you to come through this. I’m not ready to do life without you. You’re my strength when I’m weak and boy do I need you right now.” He had to stop so he could catch his breath as the sobs threatened to take over his body. He grabbed Ellie’s hand in both of his and placed a gentle kiss on her hand. He looked up to see her gray hair and the wrinkles that covered her face. She was more beautiful to him now than she was all those years ago when God would have it that she walked into that classroom.
Nine days ago, it was just a normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary. They were sitting cuddled up on the couch watching family feud reruns when the stove went off. Ellie got up from the couch, gave Calvin a peck on the cheek and went to get the cookies out of the oven. Minutes later he heard a lot of commotion in the kitchen and ran in to find Ellie lying in the floor with the pan and cookies splayed out around her. The ambulance showed up fifteen minutes later and they informed him that she had suffered a heart attack. But how? She was so healthy. He should have got up to get the cookies, not her. He knew that wasn’t the reason for her heart attack but he couldn’t avoid placing the blame on himself somehow.
Calvin laid his head on the hospital bed and let the sobs take over. He knew people could hear him from outside of the room but he didn’t care anymore. Things began to sink in that she could be gone. There would be no more acting like they were teenagers even though they were in their eighties, no more sitting on the front porch and laughing until they cried. No more frail tickle fights on the bed. He would have to make his own coffee in the morning. He wouldn’t have her small body pressed into his every night nor would he be able to wake up to her sweet face and give her a peck on the forehead every morning. Calvin begin to feel physically sick to his stomach but he didn’t have the energy to pick his head up from the bed let alone pull himself up from the chair and walk to the bathroom. So he just laid there trying to control his breathing as the tears continued to roll down his face onto Ellie’s hand, soaking the cotton bedsheets.
“I need you, sweetheart.” He managed to force out in between sobs. “Please stay with me, Peach.”
Maxin and Relaxin All Cool 