Choose Me

A Home, A Café, and A Charlie

Of course as expected Elise is late and the awkward silence between a doctor and a lawyer add to my headache. The doctor taps and taps on the table and it just amplifies. When they start to talk about the new suit store a few blocks away i halt them and ask them to start. Since Elise has to be here for legal the doctor pulls out the papers from the folder and the thunder roars. Can it ever not rain? I look at the end of the large room at Charlie bouncing in Alexis' lap, smiling and carefree. Lucky. Just as he is about to speak the witch comes in with her hair in a full blow out and clothes that have just had the tags cut off. She sits a seat away from me and i look at the doctor to proceed.

"Helen came in 6 months ago with a pulsating feeling near the navel, deep constant pain in her abdomen and on the side plus growing back pain. Through test and an overnight stay we had found an abdominal aortic aneurysm." He pauses and flips through the pages. "We then advised her to stay longer, an aneurysm the size she had was a danger of rupturing and frankly we are surprised she lasted this long."

"I don't understand what it is." Elise doesn't remember now but the diagnosis is the jab to the chest i didn't need to have.

"Charlie had it. It's what killed him. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is an enlarged area in the lower part of the aorta, the major blood vessel that supplies blood to the body." I remember the day i had finally got answers to what killed him. I had to research it myself.

"Yes, the aorta, about the thickness of a garden hose, runs from your heart through the center of your chest and abdomen. Because the aorta is the body's main supplier of blood, a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm can cause life-threatening bleeding. Depending on the size and rate at which your abdominal aortic aneurysm is growing, treatment may vary from watchful waiting to emergency surgery. Once an abdominal aortic aneurysm is found, we usually will closely monitor it so that surgery can be planned if it's necessary. Emergency surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm can be risky."

"But she didn't want that." I say looking out the window to the pouring rain.

"I'm afraid not." I have an idea why but not the complete idea of her plan. She slowly died in front of her daughter for 6 months and said nothing to no one.

"Where did they find her?" I ask and i see Elise look at me.

"St. James Park. Her aneurysm had killed her instantly." I stand and Elise starts crying. I walk to the window and try not to throw myself out of it.

"That's where her husband purposes to her. They married by the water." I stop and wipe the tears that fall. "He called it a day of miracles because now she had to say yes because she had said the three little words she was afraid of." The doctor excuses himself out and i bring myself to sit back down. It was time for legal.

"Helen had set a few procedures in her will along with letters addressing you and Ms. Petred. She asked me to read out this statement first, now i apologize for the language i have to read it word for word." I sit down. "To my lovely daughter Elise. No, we have not had the relationship i hoped for in my first child but it never made me love you any less. To you i leave my words of wisdom and all the luck in the world and hope it grants you love and happiness, we all know how much it takes for someone to get a thank you out of you so i wish the man who gets stuck with you is patient, understanding and deaf." Elise sits back shocked and still. "Christina, i leave you my home, the cafe, and most of all our darling Charlie. Over the years i have watched you grow into this beautiful woman and see the work you willingly put in. I give you what you deserve. Please teach her to love life the way we showed you. You're Uncle Charlie had that as his dying wish. We love you like one of our own and we know you would raise Charlie to be something we'd be proud of. Christina i leave you with these steps. All of my clothes is to be donated and i want to be dressed in my wedding dress and buried next to the love of my life. I want no crying, no sharing stories but a day in the rain at the Hething's mountain. Remember to keep your hands up and enjoy the adrenaline rush life has to offer. Love Helen A. Petred." He stops and so has my heart. She gave me everything, all of it.