by M Purcell
alluring eye's. Her arms were thin, and ended with the shape of two small perfectly sized hands. Her fingers narrow and dainty, surely any man would relish holding one of them in his own. I could not see her shoes for they were resting under the table out of my view. I am certain that they were attached to the most curvaceously long, slender legs, merely by seeing the way a couple of the men were gawking, from nearby tables. I felt a bit of anger and jealousy rise within me, and then subside. The truth be told, if I had been sitting with them, I too would be gawking, although with less obviousness and more self-control. After all we were gentlemen, not cavemen.
When she looked up at me for the first time, and I saw those green eye’s sparkling like two giant emeralds. I could not resist her charm and fell deeply and unequivocally in love with her right there on the spot. I will not bore you with the details of our courtship, but it is needless to say it was I who did the pursuing. I will say that Lorinda was a devoted Catholic, and it took some doing to get her to forgive my absence from church.
Over time, she did forgive me, never failing to give a little sermon of her own every Sunday that she saw me. One Sunday, in particular, she took the cross necklace from around her neck and placed it around mine. She softly whispered in my ear, "Mr. Lemore, if you cannot find the time to come to church with me…," raising her voice just a bit, she continued "You will keep this cross close to you at all times, as a symbol of your faith." Wisely, I did not argue, but instead kissed her and said thank you darling. You are my beautiful guardian angel. She smiled at me and tapped me on the hand, "Oh now stop that foolishness. We had better be on our way, or we'll be late for my parent's dinner. You know how dad can get when he is hungry, a five foot six-inch Ogre." We both laughed again. Her father was one of the gentlest, kindest men he had ever met. As she stood up to leave, she suddenly stopped, leaning against the wall and began to cough. I grabbed her in my arms to steady her, and asked, "Darling, are you alright, do you want to see a doctor. The dinner by all means can wait. I am sure your parents would understand." However, she recovered as quickly as she had succumbed to whatever it was. "No...no...dont be silly. Just a bit of a cold or something, I'm as strong as a horse Mr. Lemore, and it would do well for you to remember that." She turned to me and gave me a quick thump on the head with her small purse.
We had a large wedding two years later. I was already making leaps and bounds up the corporate ladder, in my dream of a perfect life. Time passed, and we found out that we could not have children. The doctor had mentioned adoption as an option but the idea was distasteful to me. And I made it perfectly clear right there in the doctor’s office. I did not ask Lorinda her thoughts on the matter. After my outburst in the doctor's office, it’s little wonder why she never told me her thoughts on the subject. However, it was very apparent that Lorinda was torn apart inside by the news. It seemed to me that a bit of the sparkle had left those beautiful green eye’s forever. Yet she remained the loyal and devoted wife, never wavering in her love for me.
I, on the other hand, began staying longer hours at the office. "I am sorry dear, but I am the President of one of the largest corporations in the country." Adding in self-defense, "Surely you can understand that I cannot shirk my responsibilities to all the men and women who work there." It sounded good to me at the time, but I now know that I blamed Lorinda for not providing me with a child. I wanted a boy, an heir to the throne of the vast Donald Lemore fortune.
I became obsessed with work, so blinded by my resentment. I did not notice that she was not well. Nor did she tell me that she had found out from the doctor's tests, that she was indeed gravely ill. More precisely, she was dying of a rare form of cancer, and that it was incurable. No, she said nothing but still continued to be a loyal and loving wife. All the time she was waiting to die alone, in our eighteen room mansion. Her only company was that of the servants who all seemed to love her and give her more attention than her own husband.
I never took the time to stop and notice how the light was fading from her eyes. I failed to see that her skin was now so pale that you could see the veins on her face through it. She had lost much weight, even a blind man would have noticed something wrong, being sensitive and highly attuned to his surroundings. He would have known something harmful was happening to the people he loved. However, not I, no I continued to work twelve to fourteen hours a day, seven days a week. I was busy you see, counting the pennies and making sure all the "i"s were dotted. I was hiring and firing men and women, with the care and commitment of a true corporate leader. Heartless would have described me better.
Then one day a peculiar thing happened as I was sitting at the desk in my office pondering a business decision. Although it was still daylight outside, there was a sudden flash of light on the wall beside me. It was similar to that of a car's headlights washing over it as it drove by. Only this light was much brighter and stronger, as if the sun bounced off a mirror into my eyes, blinding me momentarily. I blinked repeatedly to clear my vision, stunned by the apparition that I saw in the window.
For one split second, I saw it as plain as the day, and as big as a letter opener. There on the window was the image of the cross my wife had given to me so many years before. It grew to a blinding glare and then winked out, as a shooting star might do, on a clear Summers night. At that precise moment, the phone let out a ring, startling me. I picked up the receiver "He…hello…" my voice cracking due to the mirage of events that just played out before me. I literally dropped the phone from my hands as if succumbing to a stroke myself at the news.
"Mr. Lemore" the voice on the phone said.
"yes this is he" my hand began shaking uncontrollably, a feeling of dread racing through my body.
"This is Dr. Kendel down at Memorial Hospital. Your wife has just been admitted to the Hospital in very serious condition. And to be quite honest I’m not certain, how long she has to live sir. It would be prudent of you to get here a soon as possible."
Suddenly, nothing else mattered to me but Lorinda. I threw the phone down and ran from my office not saying a word to anyone. I jumped in my Mercedes Benz, and was off to the hospital like a shot. When I arrived at the hospital, the doctor on call met me, "I’m sorry Mr. Lemore but your wife has passed on"
The only words I could manage to blurt out were... "Oh...no"
"We did everything we could to make her last moments comfortable Mr. Lamore. I assure you we did"
"Did…did she say anything doctor…anything at all sir?" Tears were now welling up in my eyes, and I felt the weight of the entire world on my shoulders at this moment.
"Well sir, she just kept repeating your name and then...it seemed kind of strange sir"
"What…tell me for god sake's man, what did she say, I need to know"
"Her last words were.."Romeo and Juliet"
I felt a spear plunge through my heart, and I knew that I too had died that day. The doctor told me how he never had seen anyone take on death that bravely, and without fear as she did. So much that it touched his heart, and he said a small prayer for her as she passed on before him. I stood up from the bench I was sitting on, and told the doctor that I would take care of all the arrangements. He gave me his condolences, then walked away. As I was leaving the Hospital, I passed the receiving desk where several nurses were standing in conversation. They were looking in my direction, a look of disgust and disapproval on their faces, contempt as they spoke. It would seem they had pegged me right on with that call. At that moment, I was full of shame and remorse at my life, and what I had done to my poor beautiful wife Lorinda. May she and God forgive me for my arrogance and ignorance.
It is strange how life can abruptly stop, turn to you and smack you extremely hard in the face with reality. My only regret about it was that life could have chosen to do it a few years earlier. Then perhaps I could have done something to save my beloved Lorinda. However, life never steps in our daily events to interfere. We choose our own paths, and we reap the rewards from them, g
ood or bad. In all honesty, Donald Lemore died in that hospital room with his wife, and I was just a shell of what he once was, or perhaps could have been.
Chapter seven: The Calling
I cared no more for the wealth, which of course, I told myself was so Lorinda could have the finest things in life. The funny thing is, she never asked for them. I know now that it was for me, to sustain my own greed, a lust for endless wealth and power. To what end has my greed gotten me? This? I lost the one and only person I loved deepest in my lifetime. My only thoughts were that wherever she might be, she would forgive me for being such a blind fool.
Being disheartened and devastated by the truth of my life, I sold off my entire estate, corporation, stocks, bonds and investments. The bulk of my estate I chose to donate to the research foundations. Most of which that were so desperately trying to find a cure for the decease which took my wife. I kept only enough to live on comfortably in this apartment. And there you have it, that was fifteen years ago, and here I remain. I never dated, or fell in love again. I did not feel anything anymore, except grief. So, here I stand at my living room window once again for my