Bob & Gloria - A Sentimental Short Story

Gloria

As it usually does, this ending began with a phone call. It was 3am. Gloria awoke startled by the ringing of the phone. There is an understood rule – usually when the phone rings at this hour, the news isn’t good. She reached over to her nightstand and quickly picked up the phone. She sat there silently in bed as she took in the bad news. Bob, someone she once knew well, was in his final stages of life. Her instant reaction to this news, was that it was annoying. Bob and Gloria had a past – and not a good one. She sat in the quiet of the early morning hours in anger. She had made a decision years ago that she never wanted to see him again, and now, of course he was dying.

After an hour, her thoughts transitioned to slight sorrow. She didn’t like this feeling, nor did she understand it. Why would she feel sad about someone she didn’t ever want to see again? Guilt started creeping into her thoughts too. It was a complex storm of emotions, and she was angry it was happening at all. Why did Bob have to do this to her? Wasn’t all the harsh words and encounters that they had shared in the past enough? She had planned on being angry at him for good. She never really thought about him ever dying.

Bob

Bob laid in the hospital bed. Knowing his time on this earth was nearing its end, he rested deep in thought about the past. A certain clarity came to him in that moment. In the end, only what was real truly mattered. He thought about the people he had hurt in the past, and for the first time in his life, he felt sorry for his actions. He thought about Gloria, and the tiffs they had that kept them apart all of these years. He was truly sorry and hoped for her forgiveness. He didn’t want to leave his life with loose ends. But he knew how angry she was and wasn’t sure she would ever give him a chance to apologize. He didn’t expect her to understand this clarity he found in his last days – it was a certain epiphany that most never experience outside of this situation. Never-the-less, hope rested shakily in his heart.

Gloria

The sun rose on the horizon outside her window. She felt better after she had a chance to rest and let go of her problems for a while. She still was pretty set on not visiting Bob. She was still angry about the past.

Gloria went about her day, going through the usual daily tasks. A small amount of guilt uncomfortably sat in her stomach. After a while, she got tired of this feeling and decided to visit Bob – but only to get rid of that bad feeling – she was doing this for herself. She got dressed up, grabbed her purse, and left.

Bob & Gloria

She parked her car and made her way into the hospital. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was so mad that she had to do this. She found the hospital room and stood staring at it from a distance for a little while. She thought about all the things Bob had done in the past – it made her want to turn around and leave.

A nurse saw her staring at the door. “Are you family?”

“Yes,” Gloria replied.

The nurse smiled, walked up to the door and opened it. “Well come on in!”

Gloria took a deep breath and walked into the room. The moment she saw Bob, her heart sank. A feeling of sorrow and love rushed in and pushed out all of her anger. The clarity that Bob had experienced came to her as well. In these final moments – what happened in the past didn’t seem to matter anymore. She didn’t see someone she was angry at lying there. She saw someone scared. She saw someone vulnerable. And for the first time, she truly realized these were their final moments together, and these moments were meant for love.

Gloria looked at Bob’s face, and his expression said everything. He was sorry. She breathed in and out and forced herself to keep the sadness in her heart from showing. She smiled and gently gave him a hug.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “A-and I’m very glad you came.” He smiled sincerely.

Gloria nodded her head and smiled back. She was glad she did too.

Years later, this final encounter had transformed her feelings toward Bob, and she held onto those warm final memories of him with fondness.

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