“Son,” the man said as they made their way down the sidewalk that would lead them to the cemetery. He placed his hand on is son’s shoulder, “I want to tell you something, if you’ll listen.”
“About what, dad?” Luke looked at his father as the man looked to the sky and closed his eyes.
“It’s about your mother.” He looked back down at Luke, the light shining off his face showing the depth of his wrinkles, suggesting his age of only mid 40‘s. He sucked in a deep breath and with his arm around his son he led them down the walk saying, “By the time I was your age I would give anything, to fall in truly, was all I could think.” He stopped talking for a moment reflecting on the past.
She was beautiful, the woman was, sitting with her book in hand as she read in silence, clearly lost in a world all her own. He remembered staring at her in amazement. She was an interesting creature and he knew he shouldn’t stare, but he couldn’t help it. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The memory made him smile and he looked at his son, seeing a blank face full of wonderment.
“Dad, how did you and mom meet?” Luke doesn’t remember ever having met his mother, only saw her pictures. She died while he was still young and yet, he felt sometimes that he knew her. Just from knowing his father. He remembered swinging at the park and seeing a part of his father that he never saw before. Something that would glow so bright, it could blind a man. He saw this power that was so indescribable that it took his breath away.
“We met at the park. She was sitting under a tree, reading a book. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I kept staring at her and you know what she did?” He looked down piercing his lip and closing his eyes, looking back up he said, “She looked up and said ‘Boy, can I tell you a wonderful thing? I can’t help but notice you staring at me. I know I shouldn’t say this but I really believe...’” he closed his eyes again, remembering in detail how she looked, how her mouth moved, how her hair flowed in the wind that day. “She said, ‘I can tell by your eyes you’re in love with me.’” He look at his son, tears filing his eyes with a smile “She was right. From the very start, she was right.” He began thinking of how they had nights where they had too much to drink, smiling still, they walked.
“How’d you do it? How’d you she was the one?”
He did not have to think about it to know what to say, “Luke,” the man called to his son, “we'd laugh at the stars and we'd share everything. Too young to notice, and too dumb to care Love was a story, that couldn’t compare.” His smile spread as a small tear escaped. He kept his arm around his son’s shoulders.
As they got closer Luke stopped and looked at his father, “How did you ask her?” Every ounce of admiration on his face and in his voice.
The man told his son of the day at the park, the same place they met, under the tree, on a blanket at a picnic:
“I said, ‘Girl, can I tell you a wonderful thing? I made you a present with paper and string. Open with care now, I'm asking you, please. You know that I love you, will you marry me?’ I was on one knee and she began to cry shaking her head yes. The tears were silent and happy and full of perfection. We laughed and we cried and it was an amazing thing.” The man felt another tear enter his eye. It had been 15 years since she had died and he still felt her with him and yet alone at the same time.
As they entered the grave yard and walked towards the womens grave, Luke stopped and said, “Dad, how did she die?” He regretted asking after the words began to exit, but he had to know. He had to know what happened to his mother.
Luke’s father stopped in his tacks, a few feet ahead of his son. He felt his heart sink as he thought of the day she told him she was dying. She had worn her hair in a natural flow that was elegant in every way. Her silk dress was purple with no special design and came to the knees, flowing perfectly. Just like her, it was graceful.
Luke was about a year old then, still wearing a diaper and stumbling when he walked. He saw her in him, the brown eyes and dark brown hair. His nose was her’s too; that small button nose. The only thing he saw of himself in his son was his build, lean but muscular. His thoughts were brought back to his wife when he remembered how Luke had fallen down the same day she told him she was dying. He turned and looked at his son, “She was sick. They never told me with what, just that she was sick and only had weeks. She told me that day ‘Boy, can I tell you, a terrible thing? It seems that I'm sick and I've only got weeks.’ She told me not to be sad, because she really believed I was the greatest thing that ever happened to her." He closed his eyes in pain as the memory pounded hard into him. He cried all the time over that very thing.
They rounded the corner just before her grave, the man quickened his pace and then fell to his to knees. Luke came down beside him as they knelt over his mother’s grave.
“Don’t fall in love, there’s just too much to lose.” He bobbed his head down as tears poured down his face, “If given the choice, I’m begging you choose, to walk away... walk away, don’t let her get you. I can’t bear to see the same thing happen to you.” He turned to his son and hugged him tightly, tears falling from both of their faces, he said:
“Now son, I'm only telling you this...Because life, can do terrible things.”
