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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/1034186-Try-and-Love-Again
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by Leger~ Author IconMail Icon
Rated: GC · Book · Contest Entry · #2275375
Where music moves me. Here are my stories. Album #3
#1034186 added June 24, 2022 at 11:50am
Restrictions: None
Try and Love Again

Try and Love Again


The dust swirled all around him. It flew in his eyes, in his nose and mouth. He dropped the capsule and lifted his face to the sky. The tears fell freely and he cried loud gulping shouts of grief. When they finally stopped, when the pain finally subsided, he looked around as the tears tracked through the dust on his face and fell from his chin.

Eloise was gone. He completed her final wish. The ashes were scattered from the cliffs above the lake they spent so many days sailing.

At home, after showering the last bits of his wife's remains off his face, he sat on the edge of the bed looking at her photo. She was smiling right until the last days, trying to make the most of her time left. He held her until the last moment when the hospice nurse said she was gone.

Those days of sitting in the yard, swinging in the hammock, and talking were so special. She told him she wanted him to move on. To find someone that made him feel whole. Every time they had that conversation, he cried. Now the songs they sang, the things they talked about, repeated in his head. People asked him, are you okay? How does a man answer that? There's no okay. A year later, he still didn't feel okay. All her things were gone, given away, or donated. Nothing smelled like her anymore. Sometimes he missed her so much, that he thought his heart would burst.

He lay back on the pillow, imagining dating again. Fuck, he was too old for this. He hardly had enough energy to get the lawn mowed.

The doorbell rang and slammed him back to reality. Hopping into his jeans he ran down the stairs to open the door. It was Nancy, Eloise's best friend. She was carrying groceries. That's just how Nancy was, helping and being there for him and Eloise.

"I knew you wouldn't feel like going out or cooking so I brought you some food to nibble on." She busied herself with putting all the food away and making him a plate of nibbles to entice him. She cracked a beer for each of them and sat on the stool next to him.

"Everything go well?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, what can I do?" She popped a grape in her mouth.

"Nothing you can do. I got a little freaked out when my wife's ashes blew into my mouth."

"Oh." A few moments of silence. "Maybe it was a kiss."

"Then she kissed up my nose too." He took a big gulp of beer.

Nancy burst out laughing, loud and deep. "Good Lord, I'm so sorry. But the image..."

"It's exactly what you were thinking. I couldn't even do that right. You girls teased me all the time."

"Out of love, silly. She loved you so much." She patted his arm.

"I know. I love her too."

"It gets better, I promise." Nancy lost her husband six years ago. Meldon had a horrible car accident and she had to make the decision to take him off life support. Eloise told him Nancy struggled with that for years.

He watched her as she bent over to get the dish soap from under the sink. She had a nice figure. Then felt instantly guilty about looking. Hell, he felt guilty about looking even before Eloise died.

How was he supposed to go on?

Nancy turned and stared at him. "It'll get better."

He kicked back the rest of his beer. "Yeah, yeah." He just didn't know when.



Word count - 599



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