James Brewman’s wife was a beautiful woman full of life and charm and intelligence. She had a smile that could make any man and most women swoon, and Jim felt a swell of pride in his chest that of all the choices she could have made, she’d chosen him to be her friend, her love, her husband. He was, in his own estimation, a simple man without much fanfare. Average in looks and talent, he was the simple steward of a computer network for a small aircraft manufacturing firm. Like his wife, Eliana, he was an intelligent soul, but what he lacked in charisma and style, she made up for with her overabundance of both, and so much more.
Jim laughed aloud as he remembered their first date, a stereotypical session of miniature golf and dinner that had become the first of many joyful memories the two would share over the next two years. She had never putted before and like so many others she didn’t know that it was subtle control and not power that would win the day. At each new hole she would strike the ball with a gleeful force that inevitably saw the ball bounce and ricochet and generally miss its target, but her bubbly laugh and the happiness that radiated from her eyes lifted Jim in a way he had never known. On that first night, as Jim tried to teach her subtlety and control, another lesson instead took the lead as Eliana taught him something he’d never experienced: how to let go and simply live in the moment and the joy of now.
Tears began to well in his eyes as Jim thought of the day they were married, a mere 6 months after that first date. Their wedding was enormous, befitting a creature of such magnetism as Eliana, whose family and friends came from far and wide to witness the spectacle and joy of their day in the sun. In truth every day with Eliana had felt like the sun was upon him as a cool and gentle breeze blew softly by and ensured a stable and perfect temperature, and as he lifted the veil of her wedding dress and kissed her for the first time as her husband, Jim knew he was home. They danced that night like many others before and not enough since, with an unbridled joy and solace in each other’s company that seemed like the stuff of stories. Their energy seemed to overflow and Eliana’s charm was a contagion that spread to the hundreds of guests in attendance as spirits flowed and soared and tears of uncontainable happiness spilled upon the ground and were lost under a thousand twirling feet.
Jim walked across the sweet smelling grass carrying a dozen dozen roses, 144 rich, red flowers in total as he came to where he would meet Eliana once again. He envisioned the joyful energy of her face and the saccharine cheer of her laugh and speech as he approached her with the gift that he knew could never begin to express the love that overwhelmed him from flesh to soul. His heart swelled and tears rolled from his eyes as with a smile he said “Hi, baby…I missed you” and lay the flowers upon their final resting place so he could reach and give her a soft and gentle kiss.
And as he felt the cold touch of her lips on his own, Jim began to sob and rack with a pain he had never imagined would be possible until the last moment before the cancer had taken Eliana from him forever. As he fell to his knees he reached into the pocket of his coat and withdrew a simple white handkerchief, pressed it to his temple and pulled the trigger of the .45 caliber pistol wrapped within it.