Esther, Be Tender With My Love

Part Two - One

It had been a stressful day at the studio for Esther Ryan. Being a music producer was more difficult than it seemed; espicially when dealing with arrogant band members. She'd spent the whole day supervising a band trying to record their new album at her studio in Miami, Florida. Her job was to guide the band in making the record but the lead singer seemed to only want to make that impossible. Anytime Esther gave him a suggestion to improve their song, he'd snarl and threaten to fire her. By the end of the day, she was so fed up with the band that she almost went up to their manager to tell him she was done with them. Esther was smarter than that though. She figured that maybe today was just a rough day for everyone and all they needed was a good night's sleep. She also knew that quitting producing for the band would only make other bands not want to hire her.

Coming home from work, Esther immediately took off her shoes and plopped down on her black leather couch. She relaxed all of her muscles and layed her head back against the couch, breathing in deeply and sighing. All she needed now was a nice bottle of wine and her favorite record blasting throughout her apartment.

As if her day couldn't get any worse however, her phone began ringing. She got up from the couch with a huff and leaned over to grab her phone off her coffee table. Looking at the caller ID, she noticed it was from an unknown number. Worried it could be an emergency, she pressed the green button and lifted the phone up to her ear.

"Hello? Who is this?" She asked anxiously.

"Hi, this is the St. Mary's Hospital. We are looking for a Ms. Esther Ryan. Are you her?" A soft female voice came from the phone speaker.

"Yes, this is Esther. Is everything okay?"

"We are sorry to inform you that your grandfather had a heart attack earlier today and has requested to see you as soon as possible."

"What?" She yelped in shock. "Uhm, okay. I live in Miami but I will be sure to catch the quickest flight up there. Tell him I'm coming!" After hanging up the phone, she zipped off the couch and ran up to her room to pack a bag and purchase a plane ticket.

--

One plane ride later, Esther had made it to the hospital in her home town. It had been ten years since she'd been back and seeing the old buildings and busy traffic made the memories run through her mind. Memories from her childhood, but most importantly, memories from her time with the Gibb brothers. Somehow, she'd forgetten about the three boys for those ten years she was gone. It was as though once she left her home town, she also left behind all of the memories of her time with them.

As Esther sped walked through the halls of the hospital, tears slid down her face as her emotions hit her hard at the thought of the last time she'd seen Maurice's face. She missed him terribly and wished he was there to hold her hand as she walked through the empty halls of the hospital.

When she made it to the front desk, the receptionist gave her a sympathetic look as she glanced at her puffy eyes.

"Here you go darlin'." The receptionist offered Esther a tissue with a small smile. Esther whispered a thank you and gratefully took the tissue, wiping her eyes with it. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here for my grandpa. Howard Ryan." Her voice trembled from crying.

"Ah yes. He's on the third floor, room 312. He'll be right down the first hall you see when you get up there. I'll call his nurse to let her know you're coming, honey."

"Thank you so much." She smiled kindly and walked over to the open elevators.

Stepping into the metal box, she pressed the third floor button and leaned her back against the wall. In front of her, she stared into the mirror that took up almost the whole area of the wall. The circles under her eyes were darker than usual, making it obvious that she hadn't slept in a long while.

Esther closed her eyes and released her breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. When she opened her eyes again, she was met with the sight of a man standing beside her in the mirror. The man was wearing all black - black jeans, black turtleneck, black leather jacket, black fedora. Behind  thin, circular framed glasses were a pair of honey brown eyes that stared back at her through the mirror. Her breath hitched in her throat as he gave her a comforting smile.

"Maurice?" She asked in disbelief as more tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hello, love." His deep british voice echoed in her ears.

"Maurice." Esther's voice strained as she tried to stop her sobs. "I miss you so much." In the mirror, she could see Maurice's face. He looked heartbroken at seeing her cry.

"Everything is going to be alright, darling. I'll see you soon." She watched as his hand reached up to her face as if to wipe away her tears but his image vanished before ever touching her.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged as it's doors opened. Esther stood there for a second, confused. Why had he appeared? She'd never seen him like that before. Does that mean that he'd been watching over her all these years? The elevator doors began to close, shaking her out of her thoughts as she darted out of the box before being closed in.

Once again she walked through the empty hall but this time she didn't feel so alone. She felt more comfortable after seeing Maurice and almost felt as though he was still right there with her.

Soon enough, room 312 appeared before her and she gently opened the door. The beeping of the heart machine was the only thing she could hear as she walked up to the bed where her grandfather lied. She pulled up a chair and held his hand. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep with her head leaning on her hand.