Everyday

Everyday, I sat and watched. It used to be every Tuesday, but not anymore. I've been watching them since the day he was born, sixteen years ago. It wasn't an easy birth. I had held her hand and called her a champ, which she hated, but it worked. Her hands always fascinated me. They were what attracted me that warm Saturday night. She was sitting alone in a booth for two at the east side of the restaurant, holding a wine glass with both hands. I had noticed the long fingers and the short nails before I saw the sadness in her eyes. Two months later, we were married. Then life happened. Work began to pile up for both of us. We barely saw each other. Sex became a ritual. We stopped trying to conceive. And one day, I received the annulment papers and a note. "I can't do this anymore," the note read. I never questioned it. I just signed. But that wasn't the end. A voicemail came after two weeks. We were going to have a baby; our baby. I was thrilled. I pushed and got visitation rights once every week. I would sit and watch them - she and our son. He was perfect. The curly bangs across his forehead, the mole on his small upturned nose, the dip on his upper lip and the smooth skin all helped frame his beautiful face. His eyes, however, remained closed. At first, we tried to deny it. We told ourselves that babies took all the time they needed to adjust. But anophthalmia was diagnosed. She stopped smiling. Every night, before putting him to bed, she would gently cup his face with both hands, her index fingers on both eyes, as she traced his eyebrows, and raised his eyelids. Then, she would remember the eyeballs didn't and wouldn't form, and she would stifle a sob. I began to show up everyday. She never objected. I would rub her shoulders while she read to him. Today, I sat on my usual spot at the foot of the bed, watching her slender fingers run slowly across his face. For the first time in sixteen years, I saw a warm smile on her lips.

My entry for Foxtales' One Paragraph Flash Fiction Contest

Image is from the original post.