An Original Short Story by Ivan Scott
“Henry? What do you think of this dress?” Eleanor asked.
Henry turned from the mirror and looked over. His eyes explored every inch of her body and the further he searched, his eyes and smile widened.
“Oh yeah.” He gave her one last loving look. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”
Eleanor blushed. “You think those kinds of words will get me back in the sack, don’t you? You know, Henry, I wore you out this morning so I am surprised you want to go for the two times.”
“Ah, such sweet sacrifices we make for the ones we love. And yes, I fully believe I can get you back in the sack one more time before we have to leave.”
Eleanor smiled and shook her head. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She retreated into the closet.
Henry squirted toothpaste on his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth. After he finished, he looked over to the closet. “Did I tell you how beautiful you looked this morning?”
From the closet, Eleanor replied, “Yes. You did. Why do you think I keep you around?”
Henry laughed.
“Heels or boots?” came her voice from the other side of the door.
“After all these years, you have to ask?”
“Yeah. Silly question.”
After hearing a few zips, Henry’s eyes moved to the door, looking forward to her appearance. As she walked into the bathroom, his eyes widened.
“Damn, You are gorgeous.”
Eleanor curtseyed. “Thank you, my handsome hubby.”
As Henry continued looking at her, Eleanor shook her head. “I know you like these boots, but try to control yourself. You have a presentation. I can’t wait to hear what you came up with.”
“Well, you know me when it comes to speaking in public.” he smiled. “Oh, what the hell. I’m sure for you, I can summon up whatever I need to leave the audience begging for more.”
Eleanor walked to him, holding a blue bow tie with white polka dots. “I think this will go well with your suit. I want to make sure your presentation today is first class from top to bottom.”
She pulled it around his neck, then nestled up to his back and brought her arms around him so she could tie it for him.
“You know what I was thinking about the other day?” Henry asked.
“I have no idea,” she replied as she focused on knotting the tie.
“Remember the first time we met?”
Eleanor stopped. “The night I got thrown out of the bar? What made you think of
that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I was just thinking of the old days. And you came up with the bright idea of returning about a half hour later with your hair up under a ball cap and wearing your glasses so the bouncer wouldn’t recognise you.”
“I really thought that was going to work,” she said with a giggle. “I would have made it too, if I hadn’t left my purse inside with all my money and I.D.” Henry looked at her as she wrapped the tie around itself and pulled it. “Well, if it wasn’t for that, we might not have met. You were my knight in shining armor,” she told him.
“Yeah. I guess I was. Your purse was lying next to me on the bar, and when you
knocked on the window and pointed at it, I thought I had won the lottery.”
“Me too,” she told him as she shaped the bow. “Funny how we might not have
met had I not slipped off that barstool and the bartender snitched on me.”
“Slipped off? More like fell off.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I was overserved.”
Henry laughed. “If I had a dime for everytime you’ve said that.”
Eleanor laughed, then tightened the ends. After straightening it, she smiled.
“There you go, you handsome devil.”
“Sure we can’t go for that two times you promised?” He asked with hopeful eyes.
“No, you silly goose. You have to leave the audience wanting more, remember?”
Henry looked into the mirror and smiled. “Yes, you’re right.” He nodded and looked at her through the mirror. “You’re right. I am quite dashing.”
As the pair walked into the bedroom, Henry picked up his navy blue jacket and slid it on. After flattening his lapels, he asked, “How do I look?”
“Like the night we first met,” she said, a glow emitting from her cheeks. “Shall we
go?”
“Sure. Hey, here’s a thought. Since we have a little time, do you want to walk through St. Joseph’s? After all, it is the first place we met before our first date.”
“I think we can make that work,” she smiled.
#
The pair held hands on a breezy morning, sidestepping puddles from the previous night’s rain. Henry made sure Eleanor missed the puddle, then looked over and said,
“Remember that place?”
Eleanor followed his eyes. When she recognized the cobblestone building, she
smiled.
“Yes. I do.”
“And I hate coffee,” he told her.
“Thank God they had tea.”
“Did you ever think after all these years, our love affair would begin in that place? He asked. “And the funny thing is we spent hours talking and there was not an alcoholic
beverage in sight. I can’t remember what we talked about, but we were sober when we
did.”
“I told you more than once that was the longest I ever spoke to a boy and didn’t
have any alcohol,” she giggled.
“That was probably the only time,” he joked. He shook his head, then took another look at the building, wanting to make it last as long as he could before having to
do what he came to do. “Yeah. That was a night.”
As they walked, copper, crimson and butterscotch leaves had their last moment
of glory in the sky, radiating with the beauty of Heaven as they fluttered to the ground.
“You see those leaves?” he asked.
Elanor looked up, and saw the leaves dropping on them. “Oh yeah. They are gorgeous. You’ve always had a thing for the autumn leaves.”
“Yeah, I guess I have.”
“Why?” she asked.
Henry gazed up at the colors descending on them. “I guess they remind me of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Remember the old saying, ‘Don’t lose your redhead in the leaves.’ With your hair, it’s a wonder I didn’t have to file a missing persons report on you when October arrived.”
Eleanor laughed. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Henry continued. “I also think it’s because the autumn leaves are amazing. Colourful. And when I see them, it makes me feel alive. Just like you,” he said, then leaned over and kissed her cheek. After a few more steps, he continued. “All these beautiful leaves, who once pulsated in the glory of life, gave us something to marvel over, as the world was nothing but warm, sun splashed days, some so vivid and bright you think they would never end.” Henry paused. “This October, though, they remind me more of us.”
“Sooner or later, everything comes to an end.”
But why does this remind you of us?”
“I think because here are these leaves, and when their time is over, they give us one last moment of beauty. They had their moment, but time found them, and once it did, resigned them to the fate we all succumb to as we recede into October. All that’s left is the memory of their triumph as they give the world one last chance to see their beauty before they are gone forever.”
Eleanor nodded. “Yeah. I see what you mean now.”
“Make sure to savour the irony.”
“Yeah. I think I will.”
#
After a few blocks, they arrived at St. Joseph’s Park. As always, Eleanor led him to the
hydrangea bushes. The pinks, purples and baby blues glowed in the damp sunshine.
“These are gorgeous,” she said, as she stared at them.
Henry’s knees buckled at the sight of her face, happy and glowing, then he found the strength to hold himself up. “You and your hydrangeas. They always make you smile. If I didn’t know you loved me so much, I’d think you have a little something on the side.”
“You better watch out, Harry darling. I just might.”
When Henry’s grin grew and he continued smiling at her, Eleanor asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I just… I’m soaking you all in. This one moment. A moment that could never be taken away. Now is all that matters.”
“It does,” she said with a nod.
“We stood in the same world, at the same time. I knew this would be over one day, and the memory would forever be banished into the blur of other moments in life
that nobody remembered or even cared about. But I’ll remember. And that’s good
enough for me”.
Eleanor, blushed, and wiped a small tear from her eye. Then she cupped his cheek in her gloved hand.
“Why are you crying?” He asked.
“I’m not. It’s just… autumn allergies,” she assured him, then she sniffled and recovered with a smile.
Henry held her. “You look the same as the first night we met. I have to confess, on that night, I’ve never felt like that in my life.”
“I hope you know how much I love you, darling.” She moved closer and kissed him on the cheek. Harry blushed. Eleanor’s eyes lit up.
He brushed a couple of curly strains of cinnamon hair from her face, locked his
eyes on hers and said, “I hope you know how much I love you too, Eleanor.”
As they walked along the grounds, Henry looked into the distance, seeing where he needed to be. “Did you ever think we’d be standing here, after all these years, still
together?” He asked.
“Yeah, I did.”
“How did you know?”
Eleanor wrapped her arm through his and nestled in close. She grinned. “When that one perfect night comes, you just know. How about you? Did you know when we
first met?”
Henry thought for a few seconds, then told her, “Yeah. Even before there was you, there was the dream of you.”
“Good to know I am your dream girl.”
Henry looked ahead. “I know the day will come when we’ll be far apart. And I’ll be
sad. But I can live with it.”
“You can?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Because nobody can take away what happened here. What
happened to us. This is our victory. Our victory will last forever.”
“Forever,” she repeated as her eyes narrowed, and a defiant smile came to her lips.
As they walked arm in arm down the sidewalk, Eleanor asked, “Are you afraid?”
“No.”
After a few more steps, she said, “You’re shaking.”
Henry shrugged. “There’s one thing I’m afraid of,” he confessed as they moved
forward. “How I’m going to feel when the moment is over. I’ll be all alone. Wondering
where you are.”
“I know,” she replied. “But we must live in the moment. It’s all we have. It’s the
one thing that time can never take away from us. Once it becomes reality, it becomes
ours. Forever.”
“But you won’t be here.”
“Oh, I will be. You’ll take me wherever you go so I’ll be there when you need me.”
Eleanor stopped and they faced each other. She placed her arms on Henry’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “We only have now,” she whispered. “Tomorrow will come. It’s inevitable. But nothing can take away what we have right now. Kiss me. Kiss me into your forever,” she asked, her voice soft and sweet.
“No. Not yet,” he told her. “I want to hold you. I want to remember how you smelled. I want to remember the way my heart felt when I held you close to me. I want to fool myself into believing that no matter what happens tomorrow, our hearts will beat together.” Henry paused, then told her, “I want to make sure that no matter where I go,
you’ll be there.” Henry rubbed his finger across her cheek, then brushed another strand of hair from her face. “I want to remember everything about your face so no matter what happens after this is over, I’ll never forget you.” Henry gave her a long, meaningful gaze, then said, “Tell me you love me.”
“You already know the answer.”
“I’ve always known. But I want to hear you say it. I want to hear it in your voice so
that when tomorrow comes, I can hear it as many times as I need to.” His eyes pleaded
to hear her voice say the words. “Tell me you love me.”
“I love you.”
Their lips met in a passionate dance only lovers who have that certain feeling give to each other. When the kiss ended, she looked up and smiled. “You have to go.” Before Henry objected, she added, “It’s okay. This can never be taken away.”
“But that’s the part that breaks my heart,” he told her.
“Don’t feel sad my darling. Not everyone can say they had their moment in time.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“Every day,” she smiled.
“I will?”
“Oh yeah,” she assured him. “You’ll see me in the sunrise. Or in the breeze. And in the leaves of October. When you see those things, I’ll be there. That’s all that matters. We lived. We loved. And we found each other, if only for a tiny flicker of time.”
Eleanor reached up and straightened his bow tie. “You look perfect. Now go in there
and do what you have to do.”
Henry smiled. “I will.”
“And what will you say about me?”
Henry smiled. “After all these years, you still leave me speechless.” He gazed
into her eyes, letting the look linger so she knew it wasn’t just a look. “Don’t worry. I’ll
know what to say.”
“You’ll be great,” she assured him.
“Will you be there?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Promise?” he asked, as the tears gave away the walls he built so he could get through today.
“Have I ever lied to you before?”
Henry shook his head.
“Well, I’m not going to start now.” She ran her hand across the back of his neck.
“Go, my darling. And don’t worry about anything. I’ll be with you. Always.”
Henry gave her a final look. “Good bye, Eleanor.”
“Good bye, Henry.”
They shared a final kiss and embrace, then he turned and walked away. When he looked back to ask her a question, Eleanor was no longer there. He scanned the sidewalk, then nodded. After he accepted the fact she was no longer there, he turned
and walked toward the church.
