On opposite ends of a long table, two belligerents sat flanked by loved ones and attorneys. This was what a promising flame had turned into. They were getting ready to rent asunder a marriage in which they had sworn would only be broken by death. Now, it was being broken because of infidelity. Her infidelity. She argued that there was more to the story, but she could only argue with herself. He wasn't intent on listening. Maybe because he knew she had a point. Rewind three eventful years earlier.
There was little comfort offered by the hospital chairs but they had to fashion beds on them. They were going nowhere. Not while she lay on that bed, impotently leaking life. The hospital door whirred open and they both, alert to even the slightest movement, snapped out of their light sleep. It was the doctor and he held a clipboard with papers on it. Maybe he had come with the test results. Hopefully he had come with the test results. The wait was killing them faster than the disease was killing their sweet daughter. They stood before him, gifting him their full attention, hoping he would save their daughter in whichever way he could. Then the dreaded set of words came, "I'm sorry but I have bad news". The cancer had spread so far that there was nothing that could be done. All they could was enjoy her remaining days and wait for her to give up the ghost. Elizabeth burst into tears and though Jake wanted to as well, he had to be strong for her. So he sealed up the floodgates.
The counselor employed every gentle word she thought could help the couple but none could remedy the pain that their new found knowledge came with. The hurt could only increase. "With time comes healing. When she is gone, you will grieve but with time you will find your feet again. Just don't lose hope" the counselor encouraged. "It has been seven months, my daughter has been living here full time. Why didn't time heal her if time heals all? Don't you dare patronize me ma'am. There is nothing you can say that will make my world shatter any less after she is gone. Because she has been and will always be a part of me" Elizabeth yelled as she got up and stormed off. Jake remained, hands clasped together seemingly deep in thought. "I am really sorry this is happening to you sir. In my line of work I see this very often and you would think it gets better with time but it gets harder each time". Jake rose from where he sat and nodded at her as he went after his distraught wife. The days were as dark as midnight on a night the moon withheld its light.
Jake found Elizabeth pacing in the hallway, disturbing all that were venturing up and down without even the slightest hint of care. He moved in and hugged her as tight as he could. Within his strong arms, she melted and tears became her soothing friend. This period was just excruciating that she wondered whether she would survive the emotional onslaught that lay ahead of her. "We will get through this baby" Jake assured her. He was the one with a cool head, not as affected by the news as was his fragile wife. Or so it seemed.
The promised three months were cut in half. It was a Wednesday when upon waking up with an activity packed day planned, they discovered their daughter had an unusual level of cold. She was gone. She was gone, and they didn't get to say goodbye. Cue Pandemonium! During the funeral festivities, Jake was strong, no one could testify to seeing a tear. He was by his wife's side most of the time, comforting her in every way his mind could fathom. When everyone had gone, reality began to sink in. The light that had illuminated their hallways and rooms with her infectious energy was gone. The darkness stood in her place, uninvited but ever present. The house became bigger and they felt really small. There was no spot of corner they could sit and feel they were home. It was horrible.
Four months down the line, Elizabeth was coming to terms with her loss. She was seeing a grief therapist alone because she thought Jake was doing fine. He had said he was fine. However, as the days flew by, depression sat in and with his pent up emotions, he was weak and vulnerable. He succumbed. They were a sharp contrast, Elizabeth on the recovery trail but Jake on the slump. Since Leila's hospitalization, they had been in and out of work. They devoted most of their time to their little girl. Mr. Greenfield had encouraged them to take as much time as they needed and had relieved them from the financial burden that hospital bills came with. It was expected that a considerable time after the funeral, they would return to work. Return to work they did.
Jake buried himself in his work hoping maybe he could drown his sorrows. It was Elizabeth's turn to be by his side noticing her partner was going through a rough patch, but he rejected all her friendly advances. They were opposing polar ends, time was healing the woman but wounding the man. Each day came with excruciating pain that threatened to ship him to breaking point. The more Elizabeth tried to help him, the more he resented her. She tried and tried until she couldn't take it anymore. Then there was war. She shouted out her frustration but to no avail. She had successfully wended her way past her grief and now felt like a woman again. She wanted him to see her, but his eyes found the ground a more attractive sight. She was having none of it. The fighting became a daily routine and after two months of it Jake was defeated. He did not return home.
Elizabeth later discovered that he had acquired an apartment which had become a solace for him. A haven where peace resided. Away from her. All the work the therapist had done in her mind was undone in a brief moment. She fell to rock bottom, felt unwanted, unworthy. She had lost her child, was she losing her husband too? What had she done to deserve it? What made it hurt more is that she saw him at work every day and whenever she tried to talk to him, he didn't have words to spare towards the cause of relaxing her frail, unbelieving heart. How could this be undone?
Eventually, sensing the worst, she thought maybe the best way to fix this was by letting it fix itself. She apologized for shouting incessantly and urged him to come home when he was ready. She also vowed she would take a leave of absence from work so he could work out his problems without having to see her. The house was now her new friend. She took up gardening to pass the time. Occasionally she would work in the home office but the quietness was driving her crazy. Then one day, while busy in the garden tearing earth apart, she felt a body behind her. She turned to see who it was and heard a familiar voice. "Hello beautiful". With a wide smile she replied "Hi Leonard".