Grace sits in the old rocking chair knitting, her arthritic hands curled around the needles as she watches her husband sleep. The ravages of time have left their mark on her face, which is as wrinkled as a raisin. Her short hair is thinning and as white as a ghost. Her aged body has become stooped and her hands are curled in upon themselves with the severe arthritis which affects every part of her body.
Grace has kept a vigil each night for the last 6 months at the side of Ryan’s bed. Ryan is sound asleep now, thanks in part to the morphine which he takes on an hourly basis; she knows that he is in pain even in his morphine induced sleep. She looks at her sleeping love and thinks back to a time when they first met, a time before the ravages of age took their toll.
The year was 1942, Pearl Harbor had just been attacked and the United States had entered the war. She was a child waitress at a dingy diner in Savannah. He strutted into the diner as if he owned the place. He was over six feet tall and was dressed in his Marine dress blues. His hair was cleanly cut and he walked tall and proud. He looked around the diner and saw the most beautiful eyes that seemed to shine with an inner fire. He knew she was the girl for him.
He walked up to Grace and said “Hi babe, wanna go see a movie with me?”
She looked into his eyes, they were a strange gray-blue color which she had never seen before, and he had a small scar above his right eye and a dimple in his chin. When he smiled at her two matching dimples appeared in his cheeks. She fell madly in love with him at that moment.
A sound from the bed snaps her out of her reverie and she slowly gets up her aged bones protesting at the movement as she hobbles to the bed to check on Ryan.
“Would you like something to eat?” she asks.
“No, not yet”, he croaks like an old bull frog.
She smiles down at him and she gently brushes her hand against his cheek. “Do you know what tomorrow is?” she asks.
“Of course it’s our 50th anniversary.” He replies.
“Paul’s coming this afternoon. He wants to see how we are both doing.” She tells her husband.
“Okay gonna nap more, in a lot of pain, time for medicine yet?” he asks.
“Yes poppa here is your Morphine” she says as she gently gives him a dose of the medicine which is the only thing that keeps the monster that is pain away for a little while.
“Thank you momma” he says and laying his head back into his soft pillows promptly falls asleep.
Grace brushes the hair from his forehead and leans down to lovingly place a kiss on Ryan’s forehead. “Sleep well my love” she whispers and limps back to her rocker quietly settling back into the rocker to wait until he wakes again. She picks up her knitting and continues with her latest project once again slipping back into her daydreams of the past.
The movie was “Casablanca”, the usher showed Ryan and Grace to their seats. Grace sat there tense and nervous not really knowing what to do on a date. Ryan leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and she looked into his eyes and all her fears seemed to evaporate. Throughout the entire movie he had his arm around her and to this day she cannot recall what the movie was about but she can remember every feeling his arm evoked while sitting there.
When the movie was over he held her hand and walked her home. As they arrived in front of her house he kissed her and told her he loved her. It was amazing because she felt exactly the same way.
After dating for a while he went in to talk to her father.
“I’d like to marry your daughter.” Ryan said.
