CHAPTER 25

Garth Andrews stood by the window, watching as the waves crashed against the rocks along the shore, his face wrinkled by old age. The view had been a blessing to him and his wife since moving home twelve years earlier. Now all Garth could think about was that he would never walk the shore with Joanne again, nor spend their evenings listening to the birdsong as the sun descended below the horizon.

A quiet groan came from behind Garth. He looked back at Joanne on the bed. She was almost completely still, with breathing prongs in her nose connected to a life support system beside the bed. She was old, thin, and slightly more wrinkled than Garth. She smiled at Garth and he did the same in return. Joanne glanced over to the table by the wall. Garth knew what she wanted. He walked to the table and filled a teacup from the flask, then brewed a tea bag in the water. Garth added a teaspoon of sugar and stirred it. He picked up the cup and placed it on the bedside table. He took Joanne’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Joanne smiled. It was about all she could do. She no longer had the strength to talk as much as she wanted, but Garth knew what she wanted to say. She only needed to make a slight movement, grunt, or move her eyes for Garth to know what she wanted, which always made her smile.

With his other hand supporting Joanne’s back, Garth helped her up to a sitting position. He stacked some pillows behind her back so she could rest against them. Her trembling hands held Garth’s tightly, but he held her gently. Joanne looked deeply into Garth’s eyes and smiled again.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I might have to join you in there,” Garth teased.

Joanne laughed, then she coughed. She shook her head and slowly relaxed on the pile of pillows behind her. Garth removed the oxygen supply from her nose. He picked up the cup of tea and held it to her mouth. Joanne placed her hands over Garth’s and sipped the tea. Once she had enough to drink, she relaxed her head back again. Garth took the cup away and set it down.

“You always have made the best tea,” Joanne said, weakly.

Garth smiled. “I learned from the best.”

Joanne groaned. Garth supported Joanne’s head, lifted it slightly, then removed all but one of the pillows. He carefully lowered her head and placed the oxygen supply back into her nose. He was about to turn away but Joanne grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go. Garth placed his other hand over Joanne’s and sat on the chair next to the bed.

“How do I look?” Joanne asked.

“Like an angel,” Garth said. “More beautiful than ever.”

Joanne laughed. “You’ll make me choke on my tea. I have looked in a mirror recently, Garth. I’m long past my best.”

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Not to me. If only you could see yourself through my eyes.”

Joanne smiled. “You really must love me.”

“Was it ever in doubt?”

“You’re the best man I’ve ever known, Garth Andrews,” she said. “I’m blessed to have been your wife.”

Garth raised Joanne’s hand and kissed it. “Don’t talk like that,” he said. Even as he spoke, Garth felt something amiss in the atmosphere. He had seen it enough times to know. Joanne wasn’t saying those words lightly; she was saying them because she knew.

Joanne watched as Garth looked down and stared blankly at the floor. She smiled. It was the same reaction as every other time she had seen Garth do that. “It won’t be long now,” she said and pulled him closer.

Garth lightly stroked her face. “It won’t be long now.”

“Remember that song you used to sing to me? That one with the two bunnies?”

“How could I forget? It was my song for you.”

“You haven’t sung it to me in such a long time. Sometimes life takes the little things from us.”

Garth shook his head. “Life can take a lot from us, but it can never take you from me. Never.”

Joanne started singing, softly. “Two little bunnies, they go around the world…”

Garth held Joanne’s hands, grinning as he joined her. “…the big pretty bunny tells the shy little bunny…”

“…you’re all I want to know, oh oh oh.” Joanne and Garth sang together.

Joanne laughed and caressed Garth’s face. “The first time we met, I knew we were going to grow old together,” she said. “Somehow, I knew you wanted the same. I’ve loved you since that moment, Garth.”

Garth looked away, trying to hide his face as tears ran down his cheeks.

Joanne lifted his chin with her finger. “You don’t need to hide from me, my love. I only wish that now, after all this time, you could finally tell me.”

Garth wiped away his tears. “Tell you what, Jo?”

Joanne swallowed hard. “There’s a part of you I’ve never known, a part that you kept from me. All these years, I’ve tried to ignore, pretended I didn’t see what was behind your eyes. I was afraid that if I poked at it, I would lose you to it, and I could never risk losing you,” she wiped tears from her eyes. “It was the only part of you I never knew, and I wish that, even for a moment, I could finally see the whole of you, to know everything of who you are.”

Garth took a deep breath. He rubbed Joanne’s hand gently. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself and sighed. “There will always be some darkness in all of us, Jo,” he finally said. You know me. You know all of me. If there’s a part of me you don’t know, it’s because it isn’t there. You’ve always known the totality of me… I only wish we had a thousand lifetimes.” Garth wiped tears from Joanne’s eyes. “You are my big pretty bunny, and you’ll always have me, to take you all the way…”

Joanne smiled and sang along with the strength she had left, “…and you’re my shy little bunny, with a smile so furry, I’ll go away with you.”

Garth brought his face closer to Joanne’s, and they sang together. “We’ll go away to where the world doesn’t hear us breathe, or see our fears, or try to tear us down, and…”

Tyler, Clayton, and Sky, who had been watching from the doorway, stepped into the room and joined in.

“…and we’ll be together forever, we’ll go away to where the world doesn’t hear us breathe…”

Joanne’s grip on Garth’s hand slowly weakened. Her voice faded, then fell silent as she took her final breath. Her eyes stayed focused on Garth, looking at him with adoration.

“Jo...” Garth said, fighting to keep his composure. “Jo.”

Tyler, Clayton, and Sky approached their father and wrapped their arms around him. Garth continued singing, even after the others had stopped. As his children held him, Garth prayed to the universe that Joanne would open her eyes again, if only for one more moment.