Location: Heart of Haynesville RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
I'm still here in Mansfield and enjoying the kids, grandkids and doctors. My current plan is to leave on January 6th or maybe later. My plans are still up in the air. Fortunately, it seems like it is going to be a mild winter this year which is fine with me. I'll be keeping an eye on the forecast and the temps look like they are going to drop, I'll head south early.
While coming back from Sam's Club, a short story popped in my head. Once I got back to Liberty, I started typing and a few hours later, the following short story was born. I haven't proof read it much, but that's OK.
Here it is.
Two Very Different Lifes
It was raining and a north wind started blowing which
made for a dreary day. The forecast however showed clearing by the afternoon with
bright sunshine. He thought, “It would be nice if life was like that, sunshine
after every storm.” Even though his 65 year old joints ached a little from the
rain, it was Wednesday which meant it was laundry day, and after all he hadn’t
been back to the laundromat in a year or so. As he gathered up his dirty
clothes his mind wandered back. In the later years of their marriage, Wednesday
had strangely become their favorite day of week. Their washing machine broke
one day which forced them to go to the laundromat. His wife was always able to
see the silver lining in any situation so she planned an entire day around the trip
to the laundromat. First, there was breakfast at the café. On that first day, her
eggs weren’t cooked to her liking but instead of sending them back, she ate some
of them and pushed the rest to the side. She said, “half of the eggs were
perfect which more than made up for the half that wasn’t”. That’s my wife and
her silver lining thinking at work again. At the laundromat, she made up a
game. It was a game just for us two. She called it “story-telling”. She would
point out someone in the laundromat and make up an entire fictitious story
about them. It might be some young couple and she would weave a story about how
they met and even what their future held in store. She had a very active mind
and she put it to good use. I would throw in a couple of details now and then
but nothing important to the story. But, she would always congratulate me for
my contribution without sounding too condescending. This process went on until
a story was made up for each and everyone there. I always noticed the stories were
happy ones, never sad. After laundry we walked hand in hand through the nearby
park. We strolled the pathways as we reminisced about our younger years,
children and now grandchildren. There are lots of subjects to talk about after forty
years of marriage. After the walk we got cups of hot coffee and sat on a bench overlooking
the river. We watched the river flow by hoping we would see some tow boats
pushing their barges. Of course, she would make up stories about where the tug
was going to or coming from with side stories about the captain and crew. The
day would end with dinner and wine on the patio as we watched the sun set.
I replaced the washing machine with a new fancy one after
that first visit to the laundromat but every Wednesday she would say it was
broken again. I would act surprised and ask her, “Are you sure”. She would always
answer with, “Of course I am, you know I can’t lie to you”. Somehow, she always
had plans for us before and after the laundry with “story-time” being her
favorite activity. That’s how Wednesdays became our favorite day. Those wash
days were always good days.
This went on for six months before the doctors gave us
the bad news. My wife had a rapidly spreading cancer and her time was short. I
did everything I could to make her time as peaceful as possible. One day I
asked her if she was sad. Her answer was typical for her and it brightened my
aching heart. She said, “There isn’t anything to be sad about. It is just my
time and I’ll be seeing all of my loved ones that went before me real soon. The
only thing that would make me sad is if I thought you would be sad about me
leaving you. I know we’ve talked about which of us would go first, and I’m
sorry that you will have to wait to join me, but this is just the way it has to
be”. I was there for her last hour, then her last minute. I was holding her
hand when she suddenly perked up and looked me straight in my eyes, smiled and
said, “Before my time runs out, I have to tell you, I lied about the washing
machine being broken.” We both smiled. As her eyes faded and she peacefully drifted
away, we told each other, for the last time, “I love you”. Then I was alone.
It’s been a little more than a year ago that my wife
passed away and it’s another rainy, windy Wednesday. My mind was flooded with
memories of that first trip to the laundromat. Just thinking of it gave me a
happy and peaceful feeling. I hadn’t done my laundry there since her passing,
choosing instead to use the “broken washing machine” at home. But today felt
different for some reason. So, I packed up my dirty clothes and went to that comfortable
and familiar laundromat. Nothing had changed and it looked the same. The good
feelings I had from the earlier memories continued as I began doing my clothes.
After putting my clothes in the dryer I sat down, closed my eyes and started remembering
some of the old “story-times” that my wife had conjured up out of thin air. As
I sat there smiling, I was interrupted by a pat on my shoulder. I opened my eyes
and saw a pretty woman looking at me and asking something. I couldn’t
understand her and thought maybe my mind was playing tricks on me with “story-time”.
She then repeated herself and asked if I had an extra dryer sheet. I firmly answered
with a “Yes”, but didn’t say anything else. She looked at me as if I was crazy
and said, “Can I have one or if you insist, I can buy one from you”. That
sounded like some something my wife would have said and it jolted me back into
real time. I told her, “I’m sorry, I was distracted there for a minute. Here,
you can two sheets if want. No charge.” She giggled and accepted the dryer
sheets and went away to put them in her dryer. As she walked away, I felt sad
and happy, which puzzled me. To my surprise, she returned from her dryer, sat
down next to me and quickly said, “Hi, I’m a divorcee. In fact, I’m a two-time
divorcee but both of my X-husbands cheated on me.” Her bluntness caught me off
guard but I politely put out my hand and introduced myself. She quickly replied
with, “I can tell you’re single by you being in this dumpy laundromat.” I
started to tell her about why I was here and how much this laundromat meant to
me but before I could say a word she leaned in and whispered, “What’s a good
looking guy like you doing in a place like this”, then laughed loud and deep. I
didn’t know how to take her and quickly excused myself to go check on my dryer.
Even though the clothes were still a little damp, I took them out and started
folding them quickly. I wanted to make sure I was out of there before her
clothes were finished drying. She walked over to me, reached in my basket and
retrieved some of my underwear. She pretended to fold them but was doing more fondling
than folding. I was at a total loss as to what to do. Fortunately for me her
phone rang and she walked away to answer it. I started folding quicker with
hopes of leaving while she was on the phone. I still had plans for coffee and a
bench by the river. If I could get away from her, maybe I could still salvage
the day.
As I was leaving and heading to my truck, she grabbed me
by my arm. As I turned around, I saw her crying big tears and saying I needed
to take her to the hospital. I thought “Oh, crap, now what, a damsel in
distress?” I suddenly remembered what the radio talk show host, Dr. Laura, had
said years ago, “A damsel in distress is a distressed damsel, be on guard”. As
she was crying, she said the phone call was the hospital and her latest
X-husband, who had cancer, was asking her to come see him at the hospital. He
could see how emotional she was and knew it wasn’t safe for her to drive. I walked
her to my truck and helped her inside. We arrived at the hospital and I thought
I would just drop her off but she insisted I stay with her in case she needed
me. Begrudgingly, I parked the truck, walked inside with her and ultimately all
the way to her X’s hospital room. As she walked up to her X’s bed, I
immediately started having flashbacks of the days my wife lay in a room just like this one. I thought of those
last minutes with her. My sympathy was running high as I saw her X reach out a feeble
hand for hers. She refused to take his hand which made me wonder what was going
on. Even though the dying man was speaking softly, I could clearly hear his words.
He was apologizing to her for all the wrongs he had done to her over the years.
Knowing his time was running out, he was pleading for her to forgive him. I
felt as if I was intruding on this highly personal time so I turned to leave,
but before I cleared the door, I heard her response to him. “Not only no, but
hell no”. I ran to the stairs and left the hospital with my tires burning
rubber. I had never been around such a mean and evil person.
Two very different lifes.
My wife had always been innocent, nice and loving but was
taken way too soon. This other woman; pure evil, but still around. I never went
back to the laundromat because I was afraid of running into that crazy woman
again. I realized, I didn’t need to be in a particular place for my memories to
warm me up and brighten my day. My “silent echoes” are always inside of me no
matter where I’m at or what I’m doing.
Ya’ll take care of each other. Maybe I’ll Cya down the road.
Sunrise from the balcony of the condo my X-wife and I stayed at in Galveston a couple of months ago.
