Last Chance for Love

Darryl walked slowly down the recently mopped, tiled hallway. Tears leaked from his eyes. It wasn't just from his visit. It was also the ammonia-based cleaning fluid's smell that barely covered the urine smell present throughout the nursing home. He had just come from seeing his wife or, rather, the shell of his wife. Alzheimer's had robbed her of any recent memories long ago. Now she didn't even recognize him. His only positive in his life after these visits was the sight he hoped to see in the cafeteria.

She was sitting right where he expected. Eve was the wife of another Alzheimer's patient. After discovering each other during a coincidental visit, they made it a point to coordinate future visits for just the reason they were about to meet now: sympathy from a fellow traveler. As always, she was sharply dressed with just the right amount of makeup. Her hair was dyed but it was stylish and looked natural on her unlike so many others her age. He imagined she was had always been attractive. 'Class' was the usual word that came to mind when he saw her. He was afraid to let her know how much he cared for her. His feelings for her may come too much from not having a wife to make love to.

Eve gave Darryl a chance to sit down and decompress before she asked, "How was Millie today?"

"About the same. I had some success with the old photo album, but she remembers fewer and fewer of the people. She was really bad about wondering why her parents had not taken her home. She cried a lot. So did I."

Darryl took another few minutes to recover. "What about George? Still bragging about his big fish?"

"Yes, he never gets tired of that story. I guess I should be happy that he still delights in something. Every time he acts like it is the first time he is telling me. It's hard to react like I just heard it for the first time, but I do my best. I feel a little disappointed in him being more excited about talking about a fish than our children. He has begun to ask when he's going home. I lie and tell him tomorrow. Then in a few minutes he forgets he asked."

"This sure isn't what we planned for our retirement. . . . Was it yours?" He felt sure she knew he was kidding.

"No, but at least George and I were able to take a couple of trips before he got too bad. He always worked in a chance to go fishing, of course, but I'm glad for that even though he doesn't remember them now. I enjoyed talking to the other fishing widows."

"Millie and I hadn't even started traveling before we had to give up. When I think of all the times over the years one of us had said, "We can't afford that. We're saving for retirement." So, now I have retirement funds and no wife to travel with. At least you have kids and grandkids."

"That I hardly ever see. The kids can't bear to see their dad in this shape. They always have an excuse not to visit. I know their excuses have some validity, but they seem to be able to do the things they want to. I'm sorry Darryl, it's hard not to be bitter sometimes."

Darryl asked Eve if she wanted some coffee. She did. He didn't have to ask how she liked it. He knew. After the brought the cups to the table, he told Eve he had something important to ask her.

"If George dies before Millie, will you still come and meet with me?" Tears were back in his eyes.

"Of course, Darryl." Her hand reached over and rested on one of his hands. "I was thinking of asking you the same thing if Millie were to die first. I don't think I could have made it this long without your support, my dear friend. I'll be here whenever you need me."

"Thank you. I feel the same way." They parted as the cafeteria was being prepared for supper.

George went first, unable to fight off pneumonia after too many years of smoking that had weakened his lungs. Eve felt she was fortunate she didn't have to spend more time watching him slowly deteriorate. In the end, she had to be the one who authorized the pulling of the plug. It was still a hard decision. Who wants to be the one to end the life of anybody, much less someone they have loved for over 50 years?

Darryl attended the funeral but stayed in the background as Eve was surrounded by family. She did introduce him to her family as her best friend who had a wife in a similar situation as George had been. As with every other funeral he had attended, he could not think of any condolence that felt good enough. After the eulogy, Darryl wished he had known George when he was a young man. They could have been good friends and gone fishing together.

After every time he visited Millie, Darryl went to the cafeteria in hopes of finding Eve in her familiar spot. His heart ached when she was not there. He knew it would be a while before she would probably return, but he got his hopes up every time. Darryl fought a desire to call her and ask if she were coming. It was more important that she deal with her loss in her way. She was under no obligation to him. When that day she came finally arrived, his heart leapt for joy. His tears were now from happiness.

"Thank you for coming. You don't know how much it means to me." He had to stop talking or risk breaking down sobbing. "How are you holding up?"

"I came as soon as I could get all the funeral, wills, insurances, and bills taken care of. Every time I thought I was done, something new popped up. As far as how I'm doing emotionally, all it takes sometimes is a letter addressed to him to turn on the waterworks. But it gets a little easier every day." She sat in somber reflection for a moment then straightened up. "Enough of my troubles, how are you Darryl?"

"Better now that you're here. Millie is still going downhill. They say she will start having organ failure soon. She isn't able to speak intelligibly now. I understand the difficulty you had in making the decision to let George die. After every visit, I think I would be able to give consent to end Millie's suffering, but when I go back home, I think that maybe it was just a bad day and she'll be more lucid the next visit. I'm more tired emotionally than I am physically."

Eve continued to come every day except when she had a medical or legal appointment. She took one week off to visit kids and grandkids then rested two days after that.

In about six weeks, Millie finally succumbed to her disease. Although Darryl had many friends who paid their respects, Eve was in the center of the funeral arrangements. Darryl asked her to take charge. She had the experience and had the woman's touch on how things should be arranged. A clueless, bereaving Darryl was very grateful. It was nice not to have to worry about more than greeting the mourners. She was happy to be able to help.

After the burial, Darryl asked Eve to go for coffee somewhere other than the nursing home cafeteria. At their table, Darryl said, "I don't know what to do now. Some people have advised me to make the trips Millie and I had planned. I just can't see myself going without her. The only thing I looked forward to in the last few months was meeting with you. Now I don't even have that."

"Darryl, are you trying to get rid of me? I don't see why we can't continue to meet for coffee here or in our homes? Not every day maybe, but on a regular basis. I think I would miss our time together too much if we just stopped. You've been a good friend. What do you say?"

A schedule was established. They soon got tired of the high prices of the coffee shops and switched to alternating between their houses. As their talks no longer revolved around the physical or mental conditions of their spouses, they shared more personal concerns. They found out that in some ways they were opposites. Darryl was more conservative, logical, and organized. Eve was more artistic, liberal, and impulsive. If an argument began to get heated, they agreed to disagree and moved on. Their friendship was more important than winning a particular debate.

Darryl the one to suggest a change in routine. "Eve, would you be willing to go out to dinner with me?"

Eve didn't answer immediately. "I wondered when you were going to ask me. I've given this moment a lot of thought. You know when I was a girl, I was told there were two types of boys: ones you had fun with and ones you could take home to meet your parents. I am not ready to date anyone who I might put in the second category yet. I'm afraid if we dated, I would feel pressure to form a binding relationship. That pressure might break our friendship prematurely. Darryl, you are my most trusted friend. I am not ready for a more intimate relationship with anyone. Until and if I ever am, I want to keep you as a friend. I need to keep you as a friend. Do you understand? Please don't be upset."

"Yes. I understand. That's kind of why I put off asking you before now. I don't want to lose our friendship, but there's no one I would rather be with more than you. If you are afraid seeing each other socially might lead to a break-up of our friendship, then, no, I do not want us to date."

"Eve, I hope I haven't made you uncomfortable or hurt your feelings."

"Darryl, feelings that can't be hurt, aren't worth having."

After a few months, Eve decided that it was time for her to start dating. Her kids convinced her that George would have wanted her to. She knew she had to say something to Darryl first. After she has explained why she was going to date, she said, "Darryl, please don't ask me out just yet. Frankly, I'm still afraid that my positive feelings for you would push me into a deeper relationship than what I can handle now. There is a man George and I have known for a while that has asked me out. I think that would be a good place for me to start."

Darryl said "Fine" and smiled. Inside he was wounded. He was sure he had fallen in love with Eve, but she kept sending signals he was interpreting as her not caring for him in the same way. He was willing to stay a friend no matter what he really desired.

Darryl was watching TV when his phone ring. It was Eve. Calling this late in the evening was unusual. He answered and was surprised to hear, "Darryl, I have asked you and asked you to bring back that punch bowl set you borrowed. Now I am demanding you bring it here RIGHT NOW. Do you understand? I need it tomorrow. If you and the punch bowl are not here in ten minutes, our friendship is over." She hung up.

Darryl thought for a second. He was either dreaming or she was hallucinating. He had never borrowed a punch bowl from her. Eve knew he had one as it sat on his dining table as an ornament. Then it hit him, "Eve is asking me to come right over. Something is happening she can't talk about." He quickly put his punch bowl set in a box and rushed to her house.

Meanwhile at Eve's, she was arguing with Larry, her date. "I'm sorry, Larry, but he has been taking advantage of me far too long."

"I don't see what the big deal is about an old punch bowl. It's interrupted our whole evening and it was going so well. Call and tell him not to come and let's get back to what we were doing."

"I'm not going to be a good companion as long as I'm thinking about getting my punchbowl back. I have an important gathering at my house tomorrow and I don't want it spoiled. You'll just have to wait."

"But Eve." He didn't go any further with the 'Don't say a word' stare he was getting from her.

Darryl and the punchbowl arrived in a few minutes. "It's about time you got here. Darryl, you stand right there. I'm going to give you a piece of my mind." Turning to Larry, she said, "I'm sorry Larry but I'm too upset to enjoy your company any more tonight. Go on home and I talk to you later. Go on."

"But Eve, don't you want me here in case you need . . . "

"Don't worry. I'll have no problem handling this wimp. Now go on."

Reluctantly, Larry left although Darryl was sure Larry was wanting to try to punch him as he walked by.

As soon as the door closed, Eve ran to lock the door and then leapt into Darryl's arms. She was crying loudly. Darryl stroked her hair and tried to comfort her. Finally, she could speak.

"Thank God, you understood to come. I tried to get him to leave politely, but he wouldn't even when I tried to insist. Larry is an old friend of ours and lent us some money when we desperately needed it. I couldn't turn him down for a date. Ever since the loan, he has assumed he was part of our family. As long as his wife was alive, he was harmless.

Tonight, he started talking about how fate was putting us together, how he had wanted to be with me all these years, and how George would have wanted us to be together. He held me and forced a kiss. He tried to get me to open my mouth and began fondling my breasts. The only way I was able to break away was to tell him there was an important call I needed to make. I thought of you and for some stupid reason, the punch bowl at your house. It was the best I could come up with." Eve resumed hugging and crying.

"Well, it seems to have worked. Do you want me to stay?"

"Would you, please? For a while at least. We can go sit on the couch?"

The two sat and snuggled. Darryl patted her back and kissed the top of her head periodically. Intermittingly, Eve would start crying again and move closer into Darryl's arms. It was a little over an hour before she was calm. "Darryl, you can go now. I should be okay."

"I would be glad to stay here. I could sleep on the couch. You might feel safer that way."

"No. I probably overreacted to Larry's clumsy attempts to make me feel better. I don't think I'm in any danger from him anymore tonight. Please go on home and get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow. Thank you so much for coming to my rescue. I am very grateful. Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine." With that she ushered him out the door.

Darryl walked to his car. His eyes quickly scanned the neighborhood. He had been to her house often enough to recognize the familiar cars owned by the neighbors. It was the one unfamiliar car parked on the street that got his attention. He did not look at it long. There was no one visible in the car. It just seemed out of place. Darryl got in his car, started it and pulled away from Eve's house.

Darryl chose to be on the overprotective side of caring for Eve. He circled the block and came back in time to witness Larry at Eve's door. He could hear arguing and saw Larry kick Eve's front door open, breaking the chain on the chain lock. Darryl slammed on his brakes, backed up and screeched to a halt. Flinging his car door open, he ran into the house. In the dining room he saw Eve's robe was opened, and her naked body was lying exposed on the dining table. Larry had one hand on Eve's throat while his other was trying to put his penis in Eve's squirming body.

Although Darryl had never played organized football, he imagined himself a blocker and ran into Larry with his shoulder as hard as he could. Both he and Larry went to the floor, but Darryl was the only one to get up. Darryl told Eve to call the police. Meanwhile, Darryl grabbed an extension cord and tied Larry's hands. Eve was standing nude in shock. Darryl picked her robe off the floor and held her after he put it on her. He felt ashamed for getting aroused at seeing her without clothes. She stayed standing in her robe surrounded by Darryl's arms until the police came.

It was a couple of hours before the police left. Eve had refused to go to the hospital and kept swearing Larry had not penetrated her. She insisted that she was not leaving her house. The police asked Darryl if he was staying. Darryl looked at Eve and she said, "Please?" He nodded in agreement.

The crying and hugging on the couch was repeated from earlier in the night. Eve kept saying how stupid she was. How it was her fault. Finally, she told him she needed to get some sleep. She asked him to sleep next to her. Eve said she didn't believe she could sleep unless she knew he was there to protect her.

Darryl was in his clothes and Eve kept wrapped in her robe when they went to bed. It was about an hour before she fell asleep. During the rest of the night, she would start fighting. It would wake her and Darryl up. After seeing him in bed next to her, she would lie back down and go back to sleep.

The last time Darryl awoke, Eve was not in bed. He got up and immediately went into the kitchen. She was making breakfast. She saw him and commented, "Your clothes look all wrinkled. I wonder why." A smile came on her face. It looked a little forced.

"Yeah, I think both of us had a restless night." She didn't respond.

"Darryl, you've done so much for me I hate to ask for another big favor. Will you go with me to the police station this morning? They told me to come in and give my deposition. I don't think I can do it alone." She was almost in tears.

"Sure. I need to go home and change my clothes and clean up a bit."

"Eat some breakfast first before you go. I should be all right here until you come back."

"I secured your front door last night. You'll have to use your garage door entrance for a while. I'll try and fix the front door lock back later. However, you probably need to get you better locks on all your doors. Maybe a whole home security system. I guess I'm stating the obvious."

Darryl came back and picked Eve up. She looked herself: elegant, subtle but effective make-up, but her sad expression defeated her good looks. They went to the station where she gave her side of the story. She was told that Larry was saying his attempt at sex was consensual and that Darryl had broken the two of you apart out of jealousy. He was filing assault and false imprisonment charges on Darryl. Before he could protest, the police officer related that there was plenty of evidence at the scene to the contrary. With the testimony of Eve, Larry would be arraigned. He might, however, make bail after his arraignment. The officer suggested a restraining order. Eve filled one out.

Darryl could almost feel the chill run up Eve's spine when it was mentioned that Larry might be out of jail soon. Darryl quickly assured her that Larry would not bother her, but he would be around just in case. She thanked him.

Darryl's retirement job had been as a nighttime security guard. When the job was over, he had my own weapon and a conceal carry license. He started packing a weapon. For the next few months, Darryl was either with Eve at his place or hers. When he wasn't 'with' her, he was watching her house or following her while she shopped or went to hair appointments and such. It didn't take her long to catch on what Darryl was doing, but she didn't complain.

Although Darryl and his gun stayed vigilant at Eve's house, it was a local black and white that pulled Larry over. He was sent back to jail for violation of the restraining order and carrying a weapon without a permit.

Larry's motions against Darryl and his denial of wrongdoing held little water with the jury. He was sentenced to ten years with the possibility of parole in six. Eve and Darryl could both breathe easier.

Eve and Darryl went out to eat in celebration. He could tell there had been a big weight taken off her shoulders. She spoke, "Darryl, I don't know what I would have done without you. Not just the two rescues but also the way you stood by me, literally and figuratively, until Larry got locked away. I just wish there was some way I could repay you for . . ."

"Date me."

"What?"

"Date me. Go out on dates with me. If you feel like kissing me, kiss me. If you feel like more. Do more."

"We talked about this before. It just don't know if I'm . . ."

"I know. You don't want to date a man you might get serious about and then have to lose his friendship if you want to break up. I don't believe that anymore. Tell me the real reason or we will break up today."

Eve sat pensively and then proclaimed, "I'm afraid of it happening again."