An old man sat at a table, staring at the meal of mixed vegetables and cream corn while the nurses tended to the other patients. He was perfectly capable of feeding himself but it was rare that he did. He was more preoccupied in the very last of the memories he had left.
Like the memory he had of the beautiful Jewish girl he met at the hospital. He was in there for a broken leg, she was in there because of a old injuries that needed to be tended to. Her eyes were wide and brown but seemed so much older than her age of twenty-four years old. Her hair was curly and black as black could be. She laid in her bed, reading a magazine while the man was beginning to come out of anesthesia. He looked over at her and for a moment, he thought he was dead. She was an angel; She couldn't be human. The woman was far too beautiful for this Earth.
---
She looked over at him and gave a small smile. "Hello." Hello. Such a simple word to begin something not so simple.
"Morning," He croaked.
"Afternoon, actually," She laughed as she looked back at the magazine.
The man smirked. Her laugh was like bells. "I'm Edwin," He said. "Edwin Moore."
She looked back at him, giving a small smile. "Magda Bonkoski. Just call me Maggie."
Edwin lifted an eyebrow. "Ah. So you are Polish. Sweetheart, you aren't doing a very good job at hiding the accent either."
Magda smirked, a little ashamed. "Well....I tried." The Polish accent came through just as she, yet again, turned her head back to the magazine.
"When did you move her, Maggie?" Edwin sat up, grabbing the cigarettes of of the side table. Good ol' Ma must've left them, He thought.
"Two years ago. Right after the war."
The war. Edwin remembered it well. He was there in the front lines. He had killed God only knows how many. But that didn't bother him nearly as much as what happened when first entered a concentration camp. He saw sick and dying children, desperate adults. Some broke down and cried when they entered the camps, others continuously thanked the brave American soldiers. He somehow managed to hold in all of his tears until he returned to his own camp.
Edwin craned his neck to see if she had numbers on her arms. She did.
"Good memories, eh?" He said bitterly as he took a drag from his cigarette.
"Oh yes. The absolute best." She responded just as bitterly.
"You holding up okay, Maggie?"
It took her a moment to responded. "Yes. Yes, I am holding up just fine."
----
Now, Magda is gone. He hasn't seen her in nearly a year. He missed the early mornings drinking coffee and eating donuts while reading the news paper. He missed gardening with her. He missed her cooking and how sometimes she would mess up and whisper "gówno" under her breath.
Edwin found himself stupidly smiling at the memories he shared with that perfect woman. He could still hear her voice in the back of her head. Eddie, come on. Eat. He slowly lifted his fork to his mouth, taking in the sweet cream corn. Though, lately, everything had been tasting the same.
"Well, well. It's about time, Mr. Moore," The nurse said, smiling brightly. "We've all been waiting for you to eat."
He gave a weak grin. "May I got back to my room now?" He asked in a shaky, smoke-ridden voice.
"You don't want to eat anymore?"
"No, miss. I'd rather rest."
She shrugged. "Well, that's up to you, Mr. Moore. By the way, someone left flowers in your room."
Edwin took a drink of his cranberry juice and wiped his mouth before getting up. He grabbed his cane, walking slowly and hunched back to his room he shared with an overweight man named Davie. A blonde woman was sitting in a chair next to his bed, a vase of purple and yellow tulips. She stood up and smiled. "Hey, Dad," She said, clutching onto her bag tightly. "How have you been feeling?"
Edwin swallowed hard. He had children? Why doesn't he remember? "I-I apologize but I don't remember you." He said as he sat down on his bed. But the tulips....They shruck a cord.
"I'm Caroline. Your daughter." Her heart dropped as the hope from her eyes faded away. She thought that if she would pray hard enough, her father would be able to remember her. "We used to take trips to see Nana and Poppa up in Maine. And-And we went to the Bahamas once....Don't you remember, Dad? We planted tulips like these in the garden...."
A sad expression came over the old man's face. "Darlin'....I don't remember much."
"Well...That would explain why you don't remember me....We haven't seen each other for a decade." She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Really? Why's that?" He looked up at her curiously. What could have happened to make his baby girl go away? That is, if she is truly who she says she is.
"Well....You are kind of a conservative Christian and I'm a lesbian. You kicked me out," She paused. "But-But don't worry. I don't hold grudges, Dad."
He bowed his head and closed my eyes, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry that I did that. Must've been when I was drinking, huh? That's why my memory is all screwy." Edwin looked back up at his supposed daughter. "So you're a lesbian, huh? Gotta partner?"
"I do, yes." She nodded, sitting next to him.
"You love her?"
"Yes."
He nodded. "Well....Then that's all that matters, ain't it?"
Caroline put her hand on his back, rubbing it in circles. "I've really missed you, Dad."
"I wish I could say the same...."
