Waiting for Margarette To Return by Jim Harrington
Chester occupied the lone chair in Margarette’s room in the long term care facility. His wife of fifty-two years lay on the bed next to him, slowly melting away. The doctor told Chester his bride of forty-seven years had four months left to live. Chester knew better but remained silent.
He visited every afternoon. They sang songs, read her favorite books, played word search puzzles, and amused themselves telling stories from their past. Well, Chester did. Margarette’s memories were non-existent at this point, and her game playing skills consisted mostly of blank stares and soft grunts.
“The doctor told me your memory would’t get better. What was lost was gone for good. I told him he was wrong. You were strong, a fighter, and you’d will yourself back to me.” Chester turned toward the windows overlooking a pristine courtyard. He didn’t want Margarette to see the moisture on his cheeks, nor the dispirited look in his eyes.
“It’s time, Mr. Fitzgerald,” a nurse said.
“Just a few more minutes. Please?”
The nurse hesitated, looked from side to side down the hall and said, “Ten more minutes.” Chester looked at Margarette as reality traversed his face.
He gazed at his black and yellow sneakers, Margarette’s favorites, trying to think of something to say or do that would change things. That would return his sweet Margarette to him. He finally realized there was nothing he could do. It was time.
“Ten minutes,” he said.
Jim Harrington lives in Huntersville, NC, with his wife and two dogs. His stories have appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Flash Phantoms, The Yard, Free Flash Fiction, Short-Story.me, and others. More of his works can be found at https://jpharrington.blogspot.com.
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