The alarm goes off automatically at 6:30AM. The shrill buzzing sound stirs the sleeping Official only slightly. He rolls over and slams his arm down on the snooze button, stopping the irritating noise. The Official groans. He tries to decide if he should get up now or wait until he's hungry for breakfast. "Might as well get up since I'm awake. Maybe I could go jogging today, eh Eleanor?", he chuckles. His eyes wander to the other side of the bed where Eleanor use to lay beside him. The Official sighs with longing. He misses his wife, now dead nearly 10 years. Everyday, he misses her.
****
In the kitchen, the Official starts to cook his breakfast. 2 fried eggs, 2 pieces of sausage, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 slices of bread with butter and jelly. Once all the food is prepared, the Official loads it onto his plate and sits at the kitchen table where his cup of black coffee awaits him. "A well balanced breakfast for a growing young man, eh Eleanor?", the Official chuckles out loud. "How long have I been doing this?", he thinks to himself, "It's not like she's can hear me or come walking through the doorway to ask me what I'm yapping about." He looks down at his breakfast plate. His food is gone, eaten so automatically that his mind has just caught up to what his body had done. Still hungry, he heads to the refrigerator to heat up the leftover biscuits and gravy from yesterday. "No wonder I'm in the shape I'm in," he thinks as he pops the container in the microwave. "God, what I'm I gonna do today!"
****
The Official walked slowly in the park, admiring the natural beauty of the day. His brain once again switched to autopilot and he found himself at the park bench that has lately become his "usual spot". The Official sat down on the bench. "Please don't let me be like those old men that end up feeding the damn birds all day long," he thought. "Then again, all I need is a bag of bread and crackers I'm there." He hated it when his Sponsors gave him a day off. In his younger days, he and Eleanor would look forward to it. Now, with Eleanor gone, he felt like a waste. He had long ago decided that if he didn't apply himself and his team, that They would see what a waste he really was. "Although, Darien and Hobbes do keep the Sponsors on their toes," he mused. Let them think that his agents are the loose cannons that he paints them to be for as long as possible. That way, retirement will never ever occur to Them. A few afternoon runners pass by the Official. They smile and he smiles back. He has the whole day ahead of him, and with no idea about what to do with it alone.
****
"This is starting to get pathetic," the Official thinks to himself. "Why do I put myself through this, Eleanor?" He stares at her gravesite. The cemetery is quite, with a cherrywood tree in full bloom next to her grave. It is the most serene he has felt in a while.
Eleanor V. O'Hara
Born June 21, 1937 Died November 5, 1991
Beloved Wife & Mother
"and the angels themselves did weep"
Part of him knows that if he were at work right now he would be so busy that he wouldn't be giving Eleanor's demise a second thought. Then again, the other part of him knows that he would feel guilty just the same for forgetting about her. The Official dusts off the stray fallen cherry blossoms from the headstone. "I have to go now, but I'll be back as soon as I can." He smiles sadly at the irony of his words. That was the last words he said to her when she was alive." The Official puts his fingertips to his lips, and brings the finger-kiss to the top of the headstone and walks away.
****
In the kitchen, the Official starts to cook his breakfast. 2 fried eggs, 2 pieces of sausage, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 slices of bread with butter and jelly. Once all the food is prepared, the Official loads it onto his plate and sits at the kitchen table where his cup of black coffee awaits him. "A well balanced breakfast for a growing young man, eh Eleanor?", the Official chuckles out loud. "How long have I been doing this?", he thinks to himself, "It's not like she's can hear me or come walking through the doorway to ask me what I'm yapping about." He looks down at his breakfast plate. His food is gone, eaten so automatically that his mind has just caught up to what his body had done. Still hungry, he heads to the refrigerator to heat up the leftover biscuits and gravy from yesterday. "No wonder I'm in the shape I'm in," he thinks as he pops the container in the microwave. "God, what I'm I gonna do today!"
****
The Official walked slowly in the park, admiring the natural beauty of the day. His brain once again switched to autopilot and he found himself at the park bench that has lately become his "usual spot". The Official sat down on the bench. "Please don't let me be like those old men that end up feeding the damn birds all day long," he thought. "Then again, all I need is a bag of bread and crackers I'm there." He hated it when his Sponsors gave him a day off. In his younger days, he and Eleanor would look forward to it. Now, with Eleanor gone, he felt like a waste. He had long ago decided that if he didn't apply himself and his team, that They would see what a waste he really was. "Although, Darien and Hobbes do keep the Sponsors on their toes," he mused. Let them think that his agents are the loose cannons that he paints them to be for as long as possible. That way, retirement will never ever occur to Them. A few afternoon runners pass by the Official. They smile and he smiles back. He has the whole day ahead of him, and with no idea about what to do with it alone.
****
"This is starting to get pathetic," the Official thinks to himself. "Why do I put myself through this, Eleanor?" He stares at her gravesite. The cemetery is quite, with a cherrywood tree in full bloom next to her grave. It is the most serene he has felt in a while.
Eleanor V. O'Hara
Born June 21, 1937 Died November 5, 1991
Beloved Wife & Mother
"and the angels themselves did weep"
Part of him knows that if he were at work right now he would be so busy that he wouldn't be giving Eleanor's demise a second thought. Then again, the other part of him knows that he would feel guilty just the same for forgetting about her. The Official dusts off the stray fallen cherry blossoms from the headstone. "I have to go now, but I'll be back as soon as I can." He smiles sadly at the irony of his words. That was the last words he said to her when she was alive." The Official puts his fingertips to his lips, and brings the finger-kiss to the top of the headstone and walks away.
