AN UNFORGETTABLE LOVE
By Mallory Quinn
Chapter 7
"Chasm of despair"
Often on the mountain, in the shade of the ancient oak,
With laying down sun, sadly I sit down;
I randomly walk my glances on the plain,
Whose changing table is held with my feet.
Here the river with the foaming waves thunders;
It curves, and is inserted in an obscure distance;
There the motionless lake extends its stagnant waters
Where the evening star rises in the azure.
At the top of these crowned mounts of wood dark,
The twilight encor throws a last ray;
And the vaporous tank of the queen of the shades
Go up, and bleaches already the edges of the horizon.
However, springing Gothic arrow,
A its monk spreads himself in the airs:
The traveler stops, and the rustic bell
With the last noises of the day interferes saints concerts.
But in these soft tables my indifferent heart
Test in front of them neither charms nor transport;
I contemplate the ground as well as a wandering shade
The sun of alive does not overheat any more deaths.
Of hill in hill in vain carrying my sight,
South with the north wind, dawn with setting,
I course all points of immense extended,
And I say: "Nowhere happiness does not await me"
That make me these small valleys, these palates, these thatched cottages,
Vain objects whose for me the charm is flown away?
Rivers, rocks, forests, lonelinesses so expensive,
You miss only one being, and all is depopulated!
Whether the turn of the sun or starts or is completed,
Of an indifferent eye I am it in his course;
In a dark or pure sky that it lies down or rises,
What imports the sun? I do not await anything the days.
When I could follow it in his vast career,
My eyes would see everywhere the vacuum and the deserts:
I do not wish anything of all that it lights;
I do not request anything from the immense universe.
But perhaps beyond the terminals of its sphere,
Places where the true sun lights other skies,
If I could leave my skin with the ground,
How I dreamed so much appears in my eyes!
There, I enivrerais myself with the source where I aspire;
There, I would find and the hope and the love,
And this ideal good that any heart wishes,
And which does not have a name with the terrestrial stay!
That puîs I, carried on the tank of the Dawn,
Vague object of my wishes, to hurl me to you!
On the ground of exile why remained I still?
It is nothing commun run between the ground and me.
When there sheet of wood falls into the meadow,
The wind of the evening rises and tears off it with the small valleys;
And me, I am similar to the faded sheet:
Carry me like it, stormy north winds!
Insolation, Lamartine
For Terry, it was the routine again at the theatre even though his heart was broken. Susanna was trying to make him change his mind about their broken engagement, but Terry wouldn't hear it. His mother and Mrs. Henderson tried everything to cheer him up, without any results. He had become somber and almost taciturn. He was down in the dumps all day. All he did was paint. It stopped him from turning to alcohol; instead of having a hang over every morning, he put all his feelings into painting. He had sold a lot of paintings. He had done one of Candy wearing his grand-mother's shawl. He wanted to give it to her as a wedding present. He didn't want to part with it at first, but it was too hard for him to see it. A few days later, he received a phone call from Monica, the lady at the art gallery who was asking for a favor.
- Mr. Grandchester, there's a lady in a wheel chair who really like the "young woman with the shawl, but she doesn't have any money on her. She really likes the painting.
- So give it to her, if she likes it so much Terry said.
If he couldn't look at the painting, it will at least make a young woman happy.
Candy was in the art gallery with her nurse, when she saw the painting. She recognised Yaya's shawl. She didn't have any money on her, and she didn't want to miss the chance to buy it, she was afraid someone else might buy it. She didn't want to ask Albert for money to buy one of Terry's paintings.
- Excuse-me please, Madam? Candy said.
- Yes, Monica said.
- I would like to buy this painting, the "young woman with the shawl".
- It's very expensive…
- I don't have any money on me … but I can come back tomorrow, with the money.
Monica looked at the young woman in her wheel chair.
What a beautiful woman she said to herself and those beautiful blond curly hair, it's the same color as in the painting and those freckles, she looks like the lady on the painting! The poor girl with her wheel chair, I feel for her. I'm going to call Mr. Grandchester.
- But…. Monica started, no wait, I'll be right back, please wait.
And she went at the back of the gallery for a few minutes and came back with a big smile.
- You can have it for free, she said.
- What? But I didn't want to… I can come back tomorrow with the money said a confused Candy.
- Don't worry about it. Take it as an early Christmas present.
- Thank you very much, Madam. God bless you she said with her most beautiful smile.
- You're welcome. Good bye, now. Marilyn is going to wrap it for you.
- Goodbye and thank you again, Candy said.
She hung the painting in her bedroom. Terry did a painting of her. Having the painting in the bedroom it's was like having a little bit of his presence there.
"Oh Terry, why can't I forget you? She asked herself. I love you so much my heart hurts!"
Around Thanksgiving, Terry got the news that his grand-mother, Yaya, was no longer. The news bought only more sadness to his life. The last time he saw her, he was with Candy and he had spent the most beautiful day of his life. Now he didn't have his grand-mother, or Candy, only memories. He went to Greece to take care of his grand-mother's estate. One of the servers gave him the shawl, the one Candy had admired.
- Your grand-mother wanted you to give this to your friend, the one who came with you the last time, Miss Andrew.
- Thank you was all that Terry could say.
Among his grand-mother's thing there were the pictures from the boat. He looked at the first one; he was with Candy in the dining room having breakfast. He didn't have the courage to look at the rest of it; his heart was hurting so much. He put them away in a brief case with his grand-mother's personal papers.
He remembered his grand-mothers last words to him, "Candy is the woman of your life, don't let her get away."
"But she didn't love me enough, she didn't love me at all, he said to himself."
Annie and Patty were visiting Candy almost every two weeks. Annie's belly was growing well and gave her a lot of energy to her big surprise. Patty had met a young man name Joseph Connery and he had asked her to marry him. She had finally put the past behind her, and decided to continue to live without Alistair. Candy's accident had opened her eyes; life was too precious to live in the past. Albert took a 3 month trip to Africa, leaving Archie in charge of the family business.
Time went by and the Holliday season was there. The snow wasn't too bad just enough to make the street pretty. Candy had prepared a play with her "children" from the hospital. They were doings a play on the nativity and singing some songs. Candy liked to play the teacher, in spite of her wheel chair. The children were happy to please their favorite nurse. She always had a beautiful smile and was nice to them.
The day of the play, the children acted in front of the patients. In spite of a few mistakes, the play was a success. The Janitor wore a Santa Claus costume with a big bag full of presents. The local stores gave presents for sick children, but Candy had asked Archie and Annie to help her purchase some presents for the children in the hospital, without forgetting those from the Pony house.
Albert came back from his long trip in Africa. He had spent time in Congo and in Kenya. He had a nice tan from Africa's burning sun. He went to New York to spend Christmas with Candy, much to the disarray of Aunt Elroy, who thought that Albert was wasting his time with his little orphan. He invited Candy to go se "the nutcracker" on the night before Christmas Eve.
When they got to the theatre where the ballet was suppose to be, Candy felt bad. She taught she was tired. At the end of the play, people were starting to leave; Candy had to wait for everybody to go, so that Albert could bring her wheel chair.
She was looking at the people leaving, when she dropped her program at the same time a couple was passing near her. The man picked up the program and gave it to her. Candy looked at him and recognized the deep blue eyes and the lavender scent.
"Terry! she said to herself". '
And her heart jumped in her chest.
Terry's heart jumped in his heart too.
"Candy! He said to himself when he recognized her, no contact."
- Thank you, she said still a little puzzled.
She saw Susanna.
"Are they back together? She asked herself."
She felt her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. They looked at each other for a brief moment. Terry didn't say anything, took Susanna's arm and started to leave.
- Good evening! Candy said.
He turned around saw her with Albert.
"She married him! He said to himself."
And he felt his heart breaking into a thousand pieces.
- Good evening, he answered.
And he left with his date, like there was nothing to it.
Albert witnessed the scene without saying anything.
- All this time without seeing him and all I can say is "good evening"? Candy said still stunned by the meeting.
- Why don't you tell him the truth Candy, instead of suffering like that? I can do it for you, said Albert.
- No thank you Albert, I don't want to talk to him if I'm not walking, she said firmly.
Albert took her back to her place. He left her to go to a reception hosted by one of his business partners from New York. Candy changed and went to bed. She saw Terry! He was so handsome! He'd lost a little weight she said to herself. He was with her! She should've been with him! Why did the universe played a bad joke on her? After all those years, she'd finally found her soul mate, the only love of her life and she couldn't be with him because of an accident. And now he was with Susanna again. She was jealous of Susanna and she hated that feeling!
Terry decided not to go to the Christmas party organized by the troupe. He told Susanna.
- Come on Terry, you've come this far, why not continue?
- I don't feel like partying. I'm going home. Don't insist, please.
Susanna didn't insist. If she wanted Terry back, she had to go slowly. She was happy he took her to the ballet. She took him home by taxi.
- Thanks for the evening Susanna, Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas, darling and she stole a kiss from him.
Terry didn't say anything and got out of the taxi. He was constantly thinking about Candy. But seeing her with her fiancé was… or was it her husband? Was a little much for him. He loved her so much. Even though seeing her with another man had pierced his heart, but at the same time, he was very happy to see her.
"Oh, why am I making myself suffer this way? He said to himself."
He spent a very bad night, full of nightmares and insomnia.
The next morning, he told Mrs. Henderson about the incident.
- Why not go see her and clear things up once and for all? You still love her?
- More than ever! But we promised each other no contact.
- Ok, but what about your grandmother's shawl? Why not go and give it to her? You have her address?
- I can find it.
- Your grand-mothers shawl, there's your way in!
- Thank you, Mrs. Henderson, I'm very grateful.
- You should be! She said without laughing.
Terry smiled. That Mrs. Henderson was a source of goodness, in her own special way of course, but source of goodness still. He started looking for Candice White Andrew's address. Among his grand-mother's papers, there were Candy's correspondences with his grand-mother. When he found the New York address, he took his grand-mother's shawl and wrapped it. Something told him to take the engagement ring too. He couldn't part with it, so he didn't return it to the store.