Two Loves Pt. 04

My two daughters came, and we hugged goodbye. Sarah and Jake were driving Craig and Eleanor to the airport, and then heading to their apartment in Boston. We all hugged goodbye. Bart and his wife left next; it was the warmest departure we'd ever had from one another. Catherine and Mark were next, along with the rest of the relatives.

Emma and I policed the house with the help of the caterers; gradually restoring the rooms to what Megan had called the 'Wellesley Look.' I kept having a thousand moments of déjà vu sweep over me because the small tasks I'd done hundreds of times before; only Megan was my partner for the clean up.

Right after the caterer left and we were alone, Emma guided me into the living room. She pulled me onto the plush sofa and then sat beside me, cradling me to her chest in a loving and tender manner. She just held me -- silently. The worst of this event was over now. I felt comforted by her presence, by her embrace -- by her love.

After a long time, I sighed, and asked rhetorically, "What now?"

Emma spoke softly, "Soon there'll be another wedding, and then pregnancies and grandchildren. There'll even be a couple of retirements; I'm ready when you are. Soon we'll talk about where to live what times of the year, and how to remain healthy and have fun. We have time to indulge in many of the things we postponed. We do all the rituals that we like ... more together now than before."

As I processed her words, I noticed the long rays of sunshine and how they penetrated the rooms at the back of the house, including the living room windows. I stared at the familiar oriental carpet with new fascination because of the patterns the light and shadows made across the floor. Had these patterns been here all these years and I'd never noticed; or had I seen them and just dismissed them as too trivial to the moment. Now, they seemed so important.

Emma waited a minute before she went on answering my 'What now?' question in a more conscientious tone; "We keep living -- and all the things Megan asked us to do. We keep being who we were -- who we are. We remain grateful for all the days we've had together, all the days you had with Megan, and all the days we'll have in the future. And best of all, we keep loving."

We hugged each other and slowly watched the shadows slowly disappear.