Sue's face faded into the gray winter light of the sitting room. She
dozed in the armchair
that Ernie had bought for her on their fortieth anniversary. The room
was warm and quiet.
Outside it was snowing lightly.

At a quarter past one the mailman turned the corner onto South I Street.
He was behind on his route, not because of the snow, but because it was
Valentine's Day and there was more mail than usual. He passed Sue's
house without looking up. Twenty minutes later he climbed back into his
truck and drove off.

Sue stirred when she heard the mail truck pull away, then took off her
glasses and wipe her mouth and eyes with the handkerchief she always
carried in her sleeve. She pushed herself up using the arm of the chair
for support, straightened slowly and smoothed the lap of her dark green
housedress.

Her slippers made a soft, shuffling sound on the bare floor as she
walked to the kitchen. She stopped at the sink to wah the two dishes she
had left on the counter after lunch. Then she filled a plastic cup
halfway with water and took her pills. It was one forty-five.

There was a rocker in the sitting room by the front window. Sue eased
herself into it. In a half-hour the children would be passing by on
their way home from school. Sue waited, rocking and watching the snow.

The boys came first, as always, runnng and calling out things Sue could
not hear. Today they were making snowball as they went, throwing them at
one another. One snowball missed and smackd hard into Sue's window. She
jerked backward, and the rocker slipped off the edge of her oval rag
rug.

The girl dilly-dallied after the boys, in twos and threes, cupping their
mittened hands over their mouths and giggling. Sue wonder if they were
telling each other about the valentines they had received at school. One
pretty girl with long brown hair stopped and pointed to her face behind
the drapes, suddenly self-consious.

When she looked out again, the boys and girls were gone. It was cold by
the window, but she stayed there watching the snow conver the children's
footprints

A florist's truck turned onto South I Street. Sue followed it with her
eyes. It was moving slowly. Twice it stopped and started again. Then the
driver pulled up in front of Mrs. Simms house next door and parked.Who
would be sending Mrs. Simms flowers? Sue wondered. Her daughter in
Florida? Or her brother? No, her brother was very ill. It was probably
her daughter. How nice of her.

Flowers made Sue think of Ernie and, for a moment, she let the aching
memory fill her. Tomorrow was the fifteenth. Eight months since his
death.

The flower man was knocking at Mrs. Simms front door. He carried a long
white and green box and a clipboard. No one seemed to be answering. Of
course! It was Friday - Mrs. Simms quilted at the church on Friday
afternoons. The delivery man looked around, then started toward Sue's
house.

Sue shoved herself out of the rocker and stood close to the drapes. The
man knocked. Her hands trembled as she straightened her hair. She
reached her front hall on the third knock.

"Yes?" she said, peering around a slightly opened door. "Good afternoon,
ma'am," the man said loudly. "Would you take a delivery for your
neighbor?"

"Yes," Sue answered, pulling the door wide open. "Where would you like
me to put them?" the man asked politely as he strode in.

"In the kitchen, please. On the table." The man looked big to Sue. She
could hardly see his face between his green cap and full beard. Sue was
glad he left quickly, and she locked the door after him.

The box was as long as the kitchen table. Sophie drew near to it and
bent over to read the lettering: "The Added Touch in Frankton." The rich
smell of roses engulfed her. She closed her eyes and took slower
breaths, imagining yellow roses. Ernie had always chosen yellow. "To my
Angel Baby Princess," he would say, presenting the extravagant bouquet.
He would laugh delightedly, kiss her on the forehead, then take her
hands in his and sing to her "You Are The Love of My Life."

It's was five o'clock when Mrs. Simms knocked at Sue's front door. Sue
was still at the kitchen table. The flower box was now open though, and
she held the roses on her lap, swaying slightly and stroking the
delicate yellow petals. Mrs. Simms knocked again, but Sue did not hear
her, and after several minutes the neighbour left.

Sue rose a little while later, laying the flowers on the kitchen table.
Her cheeks were flushed. She dragged a stepstool across the kitchen
floor and lifted a white porcelain vase from the top corner cabinet.
Using a drinking glass, she filled the vase with water, then tenderly
arranged the roses and greens, and carried them into the sitting room.

She was smiling as she reached the middle of the room. She turned
slightly and began to dip and twirl in small slow circles. She stepped
lightly, gracefully, around the sitting room, into the kitchen, down the
hall, back again. She danced till her knees grew weak, and then she
dropped into the armchair and slept.

At a quarter past six, Sue awoke with a startle. Someone was knocking on
the back door this time. It was Mrs. Simms.

"Hello, Sue," Mrs. Simms said. "How are you? I knocked at five and was a
little worried when you didn't come. Were you napping?" She chattered as
she wiped her snowy boots on the welcome mat and stepped inside. "I just
hate snow, don't you? The radio says we might have six inches by
midnight, but you can never trust them, you know. Do you remember last
winter when they predicted four inches, and we hand twenty-one?
Twenty-one! And they said we'd have a mild winter this year. Ha! I don't
think it's been over zero in weeks. Do you know my gas bill was $263
last month? For my little house!"

Sue was only half-listening. She had remembered the roses suddenly and
was turning hot with shame. The empty flower box was behind her on the
kitchen table. What would she say to Mrs. Simms?

"I don't know how much longer I can keep paying the bills. If only
William, God bless him, had been as careful with money as your Ernest.
Ernest! Oh, good heavens! I almost forgot about the roses."
Sue's cheeks burned. She began to stammer an apology, stepping aside to
reveal the empty box.

"Oh, good," Mrs. Simms interrupted. "You put the roses in water. Then
you saw the card. I hope it didn't startle your to see Ernest's
handwriting. Ernest had asked me to bring yu the roses the first year,
so I could explain for him. He didn't want to alarm you. His 'Rose
Trust,' I think he called it. He arranged it with the florist last
Apirl. Such a good man, your Ernest..."

But Sue had stopped listening. Her heart was pounding as she picked up
the small white envelope she had missed earlier. It had been lying
beside the flower box all this time. With trembling hands, she removed
the card.

"To my Angel Baby Princess," it said. "I love you with all my heart. Try
to be happy when you think of me. Love, Ernie."
I won't argue
with my heart.

P. Christopher
Until...

so is it to long or is everone " SPEECHLESS" and not trying to be smart
or assinine.
Until...

both

I'm waiting for the Cliffnotes....

////the movie on Lifetime....

was beautiful...very heart touching...


i need a man like that...lol

Beautiful post!!

Hey LG!!

hiya CCP :D

damn that winded me
well actually just wanted to post something to get under LG ;)

very nice

Well I will have to admit I had seen this post a few days ago and waited
till now to read it for the length of it. But.. have to admit it was
ahout the most BEAUTIFUL thing I have read in a while. It touches ones
heart very deep. To have a LOVE as that, would be the the GIFT of all
GIFTS to have. We can only dream to have a LOVE as deep and lasting as
this.

AWESOME WRITING!!!

that was beautiful, ty for sharing it with us

Loved it PC now if I could only find that type of guy for myself :)

wow loved it

that was kool and nice

Ok if anyone finds a guy like this HE'S MINE !!!!!!!!!!

Don't settle Fine, don't settle....lmao..

I just might take off after you, never know

OOPS!! I guess that would be a settlement.


Sorry sluggo

LoL...See, you're starting to understand my sense of humor ;-)