Heaven's Gate Bridge

Heaven’s Gate Bridge

Marla and Darla were two of the prettiest twins in the southern part of the city. They both had lovely smiles that people said glowed. For most of their lives they did everything together, but when they were getting ready to go out in their own lives, they found that they wanted different futures.
Marla wanted to be a singer. She would cross Heaven’s Gate Bridge to go to Mrs. Tentalbaum’s Studio of Fine Voices. Darla wanted to become a nurse. Her heart always went out to sick children who needed the care of a dedicated person.
When the girls were fourteen, they both came down with the measles and had to remain at home until they were well. The recovery was normal for Marla, but Darla had a higher fever. The doctor paid many visits to the Miller’s house. It was later discovered that the fever had taken away some of Darla’s hearing. And with this tragedy, Darla could not become a nurse. Her only hope was to learn to read lips and be an aide at a nearby school.
Everyday, Darla would watch Marla leave the house and cross Heaven’s Gate Bridge for her voice lessons. Her return time would become later and later. Marla would even have what would seem an inner glow that Darla couldn’t miss.
“Why are you coming home so late?” Darla asked one day.
“Oh, no particular reason.” Marla responded as they set the table for dinner.
“We needed you home earlier today to help mother with the extra washing. You know that since she had her last baby, she has been weak and we need to do more of the chores.” said Darla as she put her hands on her hips and tried to look her sister directly in the eyes.
Marla quickly turned around to head for the kitchen where someone was chopping vegetables.
Since the voice lessons were twice a week, Marla only had to wait until Thursday to see what was going on. As luck would have it, she was coming home from the pharmacy with a bag that had their mother’s pain medicine, when she saw Darla and a young man crossing the bridge together. She could only see that they were talking. Both of them had a smile on their faces. At the end of the bridge, Marla could see that they were holding hands. They paused and then gave each other a small hug. Darla would look around and then say one more thing as they parted.
Later that night as the girls were folding the wash, Marla began her inquiry again.
“So who is that young man you were with?” she asked.
Darla looked startled and dropped the towel on the floor. When she straightened up, her cheeks were still a little red. She tried to speak but just looked down at the wash on the table.
“Okay, I’ll tell you but please don’t say anything to anyone.”
“I’m your sister. I was worried about you.”
“He is Mrs. Tentalbaum’s nephew, Malcolm, who has just come to help her while he waits to go to graduate school. He was fixing up her house and offered to walk me home.”
“It seems that he has walked you home a lot.” replied Marla as she shook out the large towel.
“Well yes. I am so sorry that I have not told you, but we were just talking and then all of a sudden ,” her voice trailed off as her eyes looked towards the ceiling where she seemed to be reliving a special event.
Mrs. Miller walked in to look at the work the two girls were just finishing up.
“Marla, did you get my medicine? I have a little extra pain in my back and I think that I’ll need some before I go to bed. You know that I get very sleepy when I take it.”
“Yes mama. It is in the bag in the cabinet.”
“Good girl. I knew that you would be a big help at home.” she said as she walked over and put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder.
When their mother left the room, both girls stopped working. Darla continued, “ He has something special to show me next Monday. Maybe you could help me by taking my turn in sitting with the children while mother gets the rest she needs. “ Darla leaned forward and whispered, “Please, I think it is very important.”
“I’ll think about it. I have been working hard already because you have been late so many times. I think mother and father were going to talk to you about it.” said Marla as she lifted the pile of clothes and walked out of the room.
The weekend passed so slowly as Darla tried to be extra nice to Marla. However Marla always found a way to find work near with someone.
Monday morning arrived with the skies filled with clouds that could only mean snow was on its way. Mrs. Miller decided that she wanted to take her medicine in her sugared tea. Marla always made the tea just right so the medicine would not taste bitter. Mrs. Miller put the glass down when she thought she heard a baby crying. On the table was the glass of tea that Darla had barely touched. Marla thought that it would serve Darla right to miss her precious meeting with Malcolm, since she had to do most of the work. She measured the drops of medicine that would put Darla to sleep for about two hours. She had to hurry since she heard someone coming down the stairs. Was it Darla?
At Heaven’s Gate Bridge, Malcolm ran towards the beautiful girl that he hoped to marry. In his pocket was the ring he had sent home for. He picked her up and spun her around as the snow began to fall. Would she say “Yes?”
Who did Malcolm propose to on that day?
word count: 999