Love Eater
Oh my I'm getting old. Oh, hello. My name is Michael Campbell, and I am a very old man. I have one love and one love alone; my gin and tonic is the only two things on earth that I love and cherish.
In my younger years of living I was the best looking youngster in town. All the ladies were checking me out; I couldn't even go outside without one or two girls batting their eyes at me. I was tall for my age, not too stocky. I had curly blonde hair and baby blue eyes. I remember my first girlfriend Samantha Rutford was her name. Gorgeous gal she was and very smart. All of the other girls were jealous of her (and not just because she was my girlfriend but also because of her good looks).
Samantha and I were together for about three months; the ending I'm not comfortable sharing with you. Samantha was a small gal with brown hair and green eyes, she was somethin' else. My heart was broken after I found out she was moving away. The worst part about that was that she didn't even tell me herself, one of her girlfriends told me. Once she was gone, I moped around for weeks. I just wasn't myself; it had felt like someone ripped my heart right out of my chest. Sooner or later my heart mended; I met Sallie May.
She was the captain of the Math League, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by the way she looked. She was a semi-tall blonde with radiant blue eyes. Nobody even noticed her, because she hid behind these thick-rimmed glasses and always had her hair tied back. This made her pretty much invisible to every human being at St. Paul's High school. She was the love of my life, though she never did tell me she was diagnosed with cancer.
After a month of us getting close she passed away. My life was just tossed upside down after that. Everything that I once knew was shattered. I was torn in half after I found out my future wife had been brought to heaven. Her cancer had reached stage 3, it was too late for the doctors to try and save her. After she had passed on, her mother told me I made the last 4 weeks of her life the best they could have been. She also said that Sallie May was in love with me when she died. She was head-over-heels for me; just as I was for her.
Well, life moves on. Did I tell you that I did get married once? Yes, I got married to a beautiful redhead named Belinda Winston. Oh, what a gorgeous gal she was; whew, she was a hottie that one. She was the pastor's daughter, which from back in my day was a sin to even think about dating the pastor's daughter. All the guys looked at her; I was stumped when she picked me to be her forever.
Belle and I were happily married for 30 years, when her life came to an end. She was going to see our Daughter and our recently brought into the world granddaughter. Terrorists took over her plane and when she refused to give up all her valuable items they slit her throat with a box cutter. After Belle died I gave up on life all together. I entered the army and served my country till they said I was too old and forced me to retire. I went back to my home in Nevada and have been doing the same thing every day since I retired.
Every Day I Embrace the new love of my life from morning till night, my tonic and gin. My daughter barely talks to me anymore, I've gained several pounds over the past couple years; I have no Social interaction. As I told you, my life is gone. It may not seem that way to you, but believe me when I say it is. All the things I knew and loved, gone.
After Belle died I really didn't care to do too much of anything anymore. I have my week's food delivered to the house every other week and on the weeks it doesn't get delivered I went to the food bank and got the daily necessities there: bread, boxed goods and don't forget the expired cookies and cakes. Life just isn't the same without Belle. My diet went to the pits after she was gone; no one was here to make sure I had a balanced diet. Belle could cook the best meals her meatloaf was out of this world.
Can I be honest with you? I miss my daughter and my grandchildren. I live alone, and sometimes I find myself talking to my ceiling. I need a friend, so my poor ceiling can have a break. If I could find a friend I would feel better about Belle's death. A friend would completely change everything.
I could socially interact with something living and something that talks back (unlike my ceiling or an empty chair). If I could give my life a name I would call it Love Eater; because every time I get close to someone my life takes them away from me. And it can't be because I'm waiting for the right person because I'm already 74 years old. I can barely walk without my cane, If only I would have done that surgery like I was supposed to. That would have changed everything. I would be in so much pain as I am now.
I'm going to go to the senior center and see if I can make a friend or two. Several months have passed, and I met someone else (hopefully my life won't get rid of them too) her name is Grace; and since I've met her I have visited my Daughter and my grandchildren, and I've went on a diet. My life is great and to top all my good luck off I met a friend, his name is Dave, and we were in the army together. I got my surgery and I feel much better. Grace completely changed my life. The best part of the whole thing is, I got rid of my old love and found a new one. I stopped drinking, and started seeing my grandchildren. Who knew the alcohol was keeping me from having a good life like this? If I knew that I would have quit already. My life couldn't be better.