Again I apologize for the small font.
The Simplicity of Love
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas were the perfect couple, many said. They
had gone to grade
school
together, been sweethearts in high school, gotten engaged upon graduation, and
married soon
after. She had taken care of the home while he put himself through school. It
hadn’t
always been easy; money was tight, especially during those first few years, but
they had
managed to
pull through. Their five children, three girls and two boys, were their delight.
As the
years passed,
both Christopher and Ann spent increasing hours at track meets, football games,
recitals,
and competitions. Christopher insisted that they spend time together even in
the
busiest of
weeks. Whether it was playing a game, taking a walk, or just sitting down and
chatting
about nothing in particular, he always made them his first priority. He loved
his family
more than
anything else, even to the point of turning down a job that would have doubled
what he was
making, but would have taken much more time away from his family.
As the children left one by one for college, Christopher
found himself falling ever deeper
in love with
his wife. Ann was his queen. It was not uncommon for one to catch him staring
unashamedly
at her the way a boy stares at a girl he admires. The seeming simplicity of
their love
for each other was beautiful to witness. During the summer, they could often be
seen
strolling
hand-in-hand down the many paths of the park not far from their house. When the
weather
turned cold, they would spend the evenings together by the fireplace, often in
the
comfortable
silence that comes with knowing someone intimately for years.
***
One such night in December, after they had spent the evening
decorating the house for
Christmas,
and they had each taken their customary places by the hearth, Ann mentioned
that
she had a
slight headache.
“I think I’ll head to bed a little early, see if I can’t
sleep this off,” she said. The concerned
look in
Christopher’s eyes made her laugh, “Don’t you worry Chris, I’m fine. I want to be
well-
rested for
tomorrow. It’d be a shame to ruin your surprise by being sick now, wouldn’t it?
I
think I’m
just a little tired, that’s all. I love
you, g’night.”
“You’re sure you’re ok?” He smiled back, “I love you Ann,
more than you know. See you
in the
morning.”
She was touched by his tenderness. Although that was his
ordinary way of telling her he
loved her,
she realized afresh just how blessed she was to have such a loving husband. While
she slipped
into her nightgown and crawled into bed, she thought about the many times she
had taken
his love for granted, reminding herself to again treasure each overture of love
from
him. As she
drifted into a fitful sleep, many fond memories of years past floated through
her
mind.
Christopher was not long in following his wife to bed. As he methodically
checked the
doors to confirm
they were locked for the night, he too recalled what would be forty-three
years tomorrow
that they had enjoyed together. He chuckled to himself at the thought of what
he had
planned: a trip to the city, reserved seats at Ann’s favorite restaurant, and
two tickets to
the
symphony. He entered the bedroom as quietly as he could so as not to disturb
her. It would
be a shame for her not to feel well
tomorrow, he thought
as he prepared for bed.
***
Since Ann was still sleeping when Christopher left for work,
he decided against waking
her to say
goodbye. Better let her get the rest she
needs. She’s been working too hard lately,
hasn’t been getting enough rest. She
was bound to get sick sooner or later. He made a mental
note to talk
with her about backing off some of the activities with which she busied herself.
Christopher had been at his office no longer than an hour
when he received a phone call
from the
hospital. A fast talking nurse said something about Ann being rushed to the
emergency
room few minutes ago.
“We have been able to get her stabilized now, but you need to
get down here as soon as
you can!”
the nurse said. “The doctor will meet you when you arrive.”
He barely heard the last sentence before mumbling a numbed
“Thank you,” and
slamming the
phone down. She only had a headache! It
wasn’t even that bad! I saw her this
morning; she was sleeping fine…wasn’t
she? Maybe I should have woken her up…to see how she
was doing… Is she alright? She must
be ‘cause they said they had her stabilized…but that means
she was really sick, doesn’t it? The thoughts were coming so fast he
found it hard to focus on
driving and
barely noticed the honks of other annoyed drivers as he wove through traffic.
He
tried to
calm himself as he jogged from the parking lot toward the front doors.
A man met him at the door, “Mr. Douglas? I’m Dr. Stanton; I
need to fill you in on what’s
happened.”
“Please do!” Christopher interrupted, “is she ok? Can I see
her? I need to let her know
I’m here so
she doesn’t worry!”
Dr. Stanton attempted to slow Christopher down. “I was able
to get her stabilized, and
yes, you can
see her in a minute. Why don’t you come to my office?”
Christopher emerged from the doctor’s office a few minutes
later, walking slower than
he had ever
walked in his life. It can’t be! No
memory? Surely Dr. Stanton is mistaken, he
has to be mistaken…but he seemed so
sure… A nurse led
him to Ann’s room before excusing
herself,
leaving him to his thoughts. He stood there briefly, his hand on the doorknob,
pausing
long enough to
collect himself. He slowly opened the door not sure what to expect. Ann was
sitting up
in bed and glanced at him as he walked up to the bedside. She looked weak, but
smiled the
same warm smile that he had fallen in love with years ago.
“Hi, Ann, how do you feel?” Christopher asked hesitantly.
She looked at him with a pleasant but puzzled expression on
her face. “I’m a little tired
but
otherwise fine. Thanks for asking Mr.?”
“Don’t you recognize me?” he asked
tenderly. The blank expression on her face gave
him the answer
to the question he hadn’t wanted to ask.
Seeing his pained look, Ann tried to
comfort him, “No, you do seem familiar to me,
but as if
from a dream. I do feel inclined to like you because you have kind eyes.” Her
attempt
at bringing
a smile to his face was unsuccessful. “Why? What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly
when she saw
tears in his eyes.
“May I?” Christopher asked as he
gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. Ann nodded yes.
“Ann,” he
paused, not sure how to continue, “I’m your husband. Today is our forty-third
wedding anniversary.
Don’t you remember last night? You told me you had a headache and
went to bed
early.” He choked up, unable to continue.
Ann was stunned; was this man
sitting on her bed really her husband? If so, why
couldn’t she
remember him? She panicked a little, “What happened to me?”
Christopher took her hand into his
own hand and related what Dr. Stanton had told him
only moments
ago. He told her how she had called 911, complaining of severe head pain; how
the
emergency personnel had found her unconscious and rushed her to the hospital;
how she
had been
unable to answer how to contact her husband and had even been confused by the
question.
When he had finished, she looked at him with tears in her
eyes and said, “Oh I’m so
sorry! I
want to believe you, but I don’t remember any of it. It all seems like a
dream.”
Christopher was crying freely, he felt completely helpless.
If only he could make her
remember
something! That’s it! He thought, I’ll try to refresh her memory. He
gathered his
composure a
little. “Ann,” he asked, “can I try to help you remember? I know you’re tired,
but I
could talk
to you while you rest. Maybe I can jog your memory.”
“Yes, if you would like too. I think I will rest though, I’m
exhausted!” Ann
whispered.
“Well,” Christopher
began, “where to start… The best day of my life… Has to be the day
you said
you’d marry me. I told you that I wanted to take a walk with you one afternoon.
You
weren’t sure
if you would be able to get the time off from your boss, so I made up some
silly
reason why
it had to be that afternoon… I don’t even remember what it was. It’s funny, we’d
known each
other for so long, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous as I was asking
you out
that
afternoon. I was so nervous I nearly forgot the ring!” He chuckled at the
thought,
“Wouldn’t
that have been horrible to ask you to marry me and then realize I didn’t have
the
ring?
“I took you to your favorite picnic spot and spread out the
lunch I’d prepared that
morning: turkey
sandwiches, pickles, and angel food cake; you always did like angel food
cake…You
were pretty good at making it too! Ahh…” Christopher paused, lost for a minute
in
his own
thoughts.
“Well, after we cleaned up the lunch stuff, I asked if you’d
like to take a walk down this
new path I’d
found the other day. You said ‘Of course I’d like to. I like spend time with
you, you
know that.’
I have to say, Ann, when you said that, I couldn’t have been happier! You told
me
how much you
loved fall; how the colors of the leaves, the oranges, reds, and yellows
reminded
you of the
sunset and how fitting that was because fall was like the sunset of the year.
“It was perfect. There was this little bench right alongside
the trail that I didn’t even
know was
there. You suggested that we sit down and enjoy the stillness.” Christopher
smiled as
he
continued, “After a minute or two of silence I asked, ‘Can I break the
quietness?’ You gave
me an amused
smile; I can hardly describe the way your smile has always captivated me. I
didn’t wait
for you to answer; I just faced you and said, ‘Ann, you said earlier that you
like to
spend time
with me. I need to know if you would like to spend the rest of your life with
me. I
can’t
promise much, but I can promise I will love you forever, with my whole heart.
Ann, will
you be my
wife?’ You just nodded, so I took your hand in mine and put the ring on your
finger.
“It’s been forty-three years today, since we got married,
Ann. Each one has been better
than the last,
I mean that honestly. Ann?” Christopher realized that she had drifted off to
sleep
sometime
while he had been talking. He leaned close to her and tenderly kissed her
forehead.
As he leaned
back, Ann opened her eyes and gazed at his face as if trying to spark a memory.
He looked
directly into her eyes and whispered, “I love you Ann, more than you know.”
Ann gasped faintly, “Chris! I
remember you telling me that last night! I don’t remember
anything
else, but I can clearly see you sitting in your chair and saying that! I love
you too!”
Christopher began crying again as he moved to hold her in his
arms. “I thought I’d lost
you, Ann.
We’ll work through this, I’ll help you remember everything. It’s gonna be ok, I
promise. I
love you so much Ann!”
She pulled away from him a little so she could see his eyes,
smiled, and said, “Don’t you
worry Chris,
I’ll be fine. I’m just a little tired, that’s all. I love you.”
As he laid her back against the
pillows, he felt her relax in his arms. She smiled
at him one
last time and closed her eyes.
Christopher knew she was gone even before the doctor came to
him to offer his
condolences.
He had never felt so alone in his life. He cried.
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