"Why you crying, darlin'?"
"Just sad, I guess."
"What made you sad?"
She just shrugged, looked at the floor and cried.
Bobby wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, baby."
"I know, Bobby. I just can't help being sad."
Bobby pulled her close and rocked her, unable to find the words to comfort the only woman he loved.
Bobby helped a customer at the scrap yard. Her boyfriend had sent her to Bobby with a part that he wanted to replace.
"She's prettier than me, isn't she?" was how he was greeted when he went inside.
Bobby instinctively ducked down when he saw her holding a vase in her hand.
"She's just a customer," Bobby started to explain.
She burst into tears and set the vase down. Bobby didn't hesitate before gathering her in his arms.
"You're the only one for me," he told her as he tried to soothe her.
The phone rang and Bobby picked up on the first ring.
"Bobby, this is the Corner Store. You're wife is, um, a little upset. Think you can come get her?"
"Be right there," Bobby's mind was racing as he hung up the phone. He grabbed keys and made it to the store in record time.
He was met at the door by the manager, who led Bobby to one of the aisles. She was sitting in the middle of the floor, crying and yelling at those who stopped to try to help her. Bobby took a deep breath and entered the crowd.
"Thanks, everyone, for your concern," he tried to dismiss as many people as possible. All but a few remained. "I'm here, darlin'," Bobby tried to capture the flailing woman in his arms. "It's just me now."
She looked at him and had a wild look in her eyes.
"It's only me, baby," Bobby watched as recognition flickered in her eyes.
When she realized what she'd done, she cried all the more. Bobby talked to her in a hushed voice as he helped her up. He told the manager to bill him for what she'd broken and walked his wife to the car.
He watched her in the moonlight. She looked so at ease when she was asleep. She looked like the girl he'd fallen for several years ago. She'd had his heart from the beginning, there was no question about that. He wondered what went on in her head sometimes. She was a lovely lady, but something in her mind had broken. Bobby couldn't pinpoint when, it had been a gradual change. It didn't change how he loved her.
Bobby woke to an empty place in bed beside him. He got up and found her slumped in a kitchen chair. She was barely aware of Bobby talking to her.
"Honey. Honey! What's wrong?" he looked her over for any sign of injury. Then he saw the pill bottle on the floor. He grabbed the over the counter sleeping pills and demanded, "How many did you take? How many?" He didn't know how many had been in the bottle to begin with, so he had no idea how much she had in her.
"Why, baby?" he picked her up and shuffled his way to the bathroom. "Why?"
"Need sleep," she mumbled.
Bobby resorted to sticking his finger down her throat to get the pills out. He tried not to tremble as he propped her up by the toilet and held her forehead so she couldn't hit it on the porcelain.
"No more," her voice was harsh sounding. "Done."
"I'm sorry," was all he said as he tried one last time to make sure the pills were out.
She gagged, sputtered and started to cry. Bobby got a cool washcloth and wiped off her face and neck.
"Shh, all done now," Bobby whispered as he gently moved the washcloth.
Bobby helped her out of her soiled night gown and wiped her body off, too. He carried her back to bed, put another nightgown on her, and then crawled into bed beside her. He pulled her close to him and she rested with her head on his chest.
"Why, darlin'? Why'd you take the pills?" he was trying hard not to cry because he couldn't picture life without her.
"Couldn't sleep," she mumbled.
"Should I bring you to a doctor?"
"Don't bring me in, Bobby. I promise I'll be good," she mumbled as she fell asleep.
Bobby's heart broke for the woman beside him, the woman she used to be and the dreams that they'd had.
Days passed and their lives got back to normal. Their normal, at least. Bobby got back to feeling safe and didn't worry about his wife as much. She'd gone back to cooking up a storm, even though it was just the two of them. She seemed content when she cooked, so Bobby just bought more groceries than they could ever eat.
One night she turned to him with love in her eyes. "I want you to love me," she whispered.
"Are you sure?" Bobby asked because it had been so long. She hadn't been well and she hadn't wanted him in that way for over a year.
"Don't you want to love me?" she looked hurt.
"Of course I do, honey. You just took me by surprise," Bobby brushed her hair back to see the emotions in her eyes. He kissed her oh so softly as his callused hands slowly worked their way around her body. They were going slow and gentle, savoring the love they made.
She took to organizing the house. Several rooms that they didn't use were packed full of items from the past. It was Bobby's childhood home and his mother never threw anything away. She was happy when she organized, so Bobby just found her more boxes.
He came inside with another carload after a day spent in town. She wasn't in the kitchen, so he went upstairs to see which room she was working on.
He found her, lying by a box she'd been packing. She'd taken all the pills in the medicine cabinet and downed them with Bobby's liquor. When he felt for a pulse, it was faint and thready.
Bobby rode in the ambulance, talking to her the whole time. At the hospital, doctors and nurses came in and out of the room where Bobby sat with her. She was on a respirator and her brain scan had shown no brain activity. Still, Bobby held her hand and talked to her like she heard him.
When the doctors asked why he didn't bring her in when she swallowed the sleeping pills, he told them that he honestly thought that she'd swallowed them by mistake. And, her mother had gone through electric shock treatment. Bobby had sworn that he'd never let something like that happen to her.
"Why?" the doctor obviously didn't get his reasoning.
"I love her. I'd rather die than hurt her," the words ripped at Bobby's heart as he spoke them. "Can't you see how much I love her?"
Bobby had fallen asleep in the chair by her bed. He still held her hand. His head was foggy from crying himself to sleep.
"There's a new complication," the doctor said when he woke Bobby up.
A complication? They were just waiting for Bobby to give the okay to unplug her. How could there be a new complication?
"She's pregnant," the doctor took off his glasses and looked at Bobby with great sorrow. "We can keep her alive for the sake of the baby, or just let them go."
"I'm not letting them go," Bobby's voice was low and the doctor heard his determination loud and clear.
Every day, Bobby was at the hospital. He'd tell her about his day, stories from his childhood, and relive times that they spent together. He watched her body change as their baby grew. Sometimes, he'd carefully lie beside her just to feel her near. He knew that he was going to lose her after she had the baby. His head told him that it was the only thing to do. His heart wanted to keep her as long as possible.
She had a baby girl that Bobby named Serena. When Serena was taken to the nursery, the nurse knew what to do next.
She adjusted equipment and tubes so that Bobby could lie next to his wife and hold her. Then, she left so that Bobby could say his goodbyes. When he pushed the call button, she knew it was time.
"You don't have to suffer any more, darlin'. You gave me a beautiful baby girl. You're
taking my love with you to heaven, but you gave some back to me with our baby. I'd rather die than hurt you. That's why I'm setting you free," Bobby clung to her body as the nurse unplugged the machines and turned the monitors off. He cried as he felt her spirit leave her body. He stayed with her, curled up in her bed, until they came to take her body away.
As he watched them wheel her out, he couldn't move or breathe. Then, the nurse came in with a pink bundle. She pulled up a chair so she and Bobby could sit down while she introduced him to his Serena.