Our Song

This is a break from my usual fantasy fare. It's a one-shot for the Swords of St. Valentine challenge.

We were at Wendy's. My husband stood in front of the cashier with me beside him. “Do you want anything else?”

"No, that's it. Wait, go ahead and make it a large," George said. I didn’t want anything because I’d eaten at home. The young girl working the cash register nodded. She knew what someone hanging out looked like when she saw them.

I found a table. George filled his cup and joined me. He stared into space for a while then said, “The weather is perfect. You always loved days like today.”

“It’s beautiful out,” I agreed. He pulled out his phone. I didn’t want to interrupt his lunch. What was he reading? Facebook? One of his classic car forums? Someone’s blog? I never knew. It was too small and too far away to see. Every time he smiled, my heart danced.

When he was finished eating, we got in the car. It was a perfect spring day to drive with the windows down. A perfect day to just be with George.

Days like this, I almost forgot I died. My love and his memories pull me back.

Our song came on and warmth rolled over me along with the melody and fresh air. We didn’t play it at our wedding, it was just a song we’d silently listen to every time it played.

As our song filled the car, I remembered all the little things that made up our marriage: watching TV, laughing at in-jokes, the contentment I only felt around him. But most of all, the music drenched me in the comfort of knowing that as long as he was there, everything would be all right. Even when nothing would be all right again.

George smiled sadly. "Our song, honey. It's our song."

I answered even though he couldn’t hear me anymore. “I still love it. And you.”

Picture By Maurice van Bruggen - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15763754