Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now looking back, it's just a stepping stone
To where we are, where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when

Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when

As the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years, I slowly began to forget. It started out with little things; putting the milk in the pantry and the cereal in the refrigerator, putting on my shirt backwards. But it got worse. Soon, I could barely recognize my own grandchildren. I was messing up their names, even blanking out on who these strange children were for a few seconds at a time. But at least I remembered my daughters. Although I soon found even that to be a challenge.

The doorbell rang and Aubrey went down to answer it. I had a massive headache, and I was wearing my itchy wig. Aubrey came upstairs with two women behind her. "Look who came to visit!" she said cheerfully.

I stared blankly. "Um, hello," I said awkwardly.

The women's faces fell. Aubrey knelt beside my chair. "Sweetheart, you remember them, don't you?" I shook my head. She bowed hers. "I didn't think it would get this bad." She paused. "These are your daughters." She gestured to the brunette. "Clara," and to the blonde, "and Maya."

A bell went off inside my head and I recognized my girls. I burst into tears and pulled them into a hug. "Oh, I can't believe I forgot!" I cried. "The Alzheimer's just keeps getting worse!"

Clara rubbed my back. "It's all right, Mama. You'll be all right."

I wasn't. I was forgetting more and more each day. A few weeks later, I was sitting in the kitchen. A woman came in and set a plate of food in front of me. I looked at her in confusion. "Who are you?" I demanded. "What are you doing in my house?"

The woman's face fell. She looked like her heart had been broken. "Chloe, you – you don't remember?" she whispered, barely audible. I shook my head. A tear fell from her crystal blue eye. "It's me, Aubrey. Your wife. We've been together for fifty years," she said desperately. "Please remember."

It clicked then. "Aubrey!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I can't believe I ever forgot you!" I hugged her, sobbing loudly. "I can't remember anything. I barely remember my own name anymore!" It hit me then, how old we both were. We'd passed seventy. Our grandchildren were all in middle school and high school. We'd long since retired. My head pounded. I cried out in pain, unable to form words.

"Chloe what's wrong?" Aubrey shrieked. Frantic, I pointed to my head. She gasped. "No, no, no, Chloe don't you dare, don't you dare," she repeated over and over again. She rushed me to the hospital where they hooked me up to several machines. Clara and Maya arrived soon after with their husbands and children.

My youngest grandchild, Sadie, came to my side. "Don't leave us, Grandma," the thirteen-year-old whispered.

I shook my head. "I don't know if I'm going to make it, darling." I held on through the day, but I knew I wouldn't pull through. I knew that day was my last. Maya's family left and Clara's family followed soon after. Aubrey stayed with me through the night. She never let go of my hand. Somewhere around midnight, I felt a dizziness come over me. I tightened my grip on my wife's hand, trying to hold on. She looked worried, her hair a mess, her makeup smeared, just as she'd been the first time we went on a real date. She'd grown old since then. Her beautiful blonde locks had gone gray and brittle, her skin was wrinkled, and her posture had deteriorated. But her eyes remained unchanged. I still saw that same bright young woman I'd fallen in love with so many years ago. Her eyes were the same bright crystal blue they'd been when we first met. But they were sadder now. They were filled with tears. "Aubrey," I croaked. "Do me one last favor."

She nodded, choking on her tears. Her lip trembled. "Anything."

"Don't let go until I do."

She climbed into my bed, her old bones cracking, and nestled herself close to me. She laid her head on my chest. Just as she used to do in college.

"Everything's just been really stressful lately," Aubrey whimpered.

I held out my hand and scooted over. "Come here, silly." She climbed into my bed and nestled close. She rested her head on my chest. I gently stroked her long blonde hair. "I love you," I whispered. "You're my best friend and I love you. Never forget it."

She smiled against my chest. "I love you too, Chloe."

I stroked her hair. "I love you," I murmured, my voice cracking.

I could feel my shirt getting wet where she was beginning to cry. "I love you too, Chloe."

I felt the dizziness start to take over. Lights danced in my vision. "Sing to me," I asked. "Sing to me just one last time."

She sniffed. She began to sing softly. The song sounded vaguely familiar, but with my Alzheimer's I couldn't quite place it. She paused. "It's the song you sang in the Bellas," she reminded me.

Eternal Flame, I remembered. I smiled. "I remember." I kissed the top of her head as she continued.

Close your eyes

Give me your hand, darling

Do you feel my heart beating?

Do you understand?

Do you feel the same?

Am I only dreaming,

Or is this burning an eternal flame?

Say my name

Sun shines through the rain

A whole life, so lonely

And then come and ease the pain

I don't want to lose this feeling,

Is this burning an eternal flame?

My breathing slowed and my heartbeat began to fade as Aubrey sang. I could tell that she felt it too, for her voice was cracking. She finished the song and took my hand. "I will always love you, sweetheart."

"Don't join me too soon, all right?" I replied. "Hold out a while longer."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Say hello to Julian for me."

I tried to squeeze her hand, but I didn't have the strength. "I love you, Aubrey."

She kissed me. And she didn't break away. I let go, letting the wave crash over me. I died with my wife's lips on mine, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My voice was starting to crack as the tears fell. But I finished the song as my Chloe's heartbeat grew weaker. "I will always love you, sweetheart," I promised.

"Don't join me too soon, all right? Hold out a while longer."

I sniffed. "Say hello to Julian for me."

"I love you, Aubrey."

I didn't hesitate. I kissed my wife. I kissed her and held it for the rest of her life. I felt her breathing stop beneath my lips and only then did I pull away. "I love you, Chloe," I whispered.

When I got home, the house was empty. I sat in the dark, sobbing loudly. I didn't eat for a long time. I couldn't eat. My Chloe wasn't there anymore. I couldn't bear the silence of the house for a second longer. I wanted my love, my wife, my Chloe back. I found an old CD buried deep in the basement and put it in the player we had kept around all those years. The sound of the Bellas came on. Our first competition of senior year. I heard Chloe start to sing. I sobbed at hearing her voice again, so young and fresh. Happy.

I got a new life,

You would hardly recognize me

I'm so glad

How could a person

Like me care for you?

Why do I bother?

When you're not the one for me?

Is enough enough?

I jumped in afterward. I remembered all the way back to college when Chloe and I would sing together in the dorm room.

I starting singing quietly as I knitted. "Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining," I sang to myself.

Chloe jumped in with a soft harmony and a winning smile. Soon, she and I were belting it out together in a flawless harmony. It sounded amazing. After that first time, the room was never silent. When we weren't chatting, we were singing. Always singing. We even sang at night before we went to sleep. After we graduated, my apartment always felt so quiet without Chloe around to sing with. I tried to sing on my own but it wasn't the same without her beautiful harmony.

I was pulled out of the memory as the music slowed and Chloe began her solo in Eternal Flame. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing as the last song I ever sang to my wife played in my ears. I missed her. I missed her so much. My friends and family came by to try to cheer me up but I didn't want them. I didn't want anyone but Chloe. I still slept on my side of the bed. I still set out two plates at mealtimes, and I just stared at the empty seat across the table. I even talked to it sometimes. I pretended she was there and I told her about my day.

It didn't get better with time like everyone said it did. The seconds ticked away like hours without the love of my life to keep me company. Chloe was my one constant companion in life, and now even she was gone. I was completely and utterly alone.

So when death did finally come three years later, I was ready. I welcomed it with open arms. Clara was beside me in the hospital, and so was Maya. They were crying. "I don't want to lose my mama," Maya whispered. "Not both of you."

I clutched her hand. "We all have our time. This is mine." They said it was heart failure. Only I knew the truth. I'd barely been surviving the past three years. My heart failed because it was broken. Only I knew that I'd died of grief. But that was okay. I'd finally be with my Chloe again.

I gave in, letting the white light take over. I heard a voice in my head as I let go. "Hey, baby," Chloe whispered. "Welcome home."