The Fleeting Moments by Miley Simmonds
“How long?” How long will you love me? It was the question on both of their minds, but he’d been the first to ask.
She smiled. “Forever.”
~*~
“Happy birthday, Grandma!” Thomas watched the video till the end before he reached for the tissue box. Watching any video with his sweet Jenny in it was hard, but when adding the voices of grandkids he hadn’t seen in years, it was impossible not to cry.
Oh, enough of this self-pity, he had work to do. Grabbing his leather work gloves, he made his way outside.
Upon opening the door, he found a small tin with muffins and a card.
Baked s0me muffins, thought you might like some, expect me back tomorrow to hear some more stories- Eliana
Thomas couldn’t help but smile.
~*~
“No, I haven’t heard about Alex.” Jade tried to balance her customer’s coffee and phone while eyeing her toddler, who seemed much too fascinated with the fire extinguisher. Trying to swallow the imminent empathy she felt for Alex’s mom, she asked, “How long do they say he has left?”
Weeks at most, a few days at least.
The shop’s bell rang, and Jade looked up to see Eliana walk in. “Good morning, El!”
“Good morning, Jade!” Eliana walked over to the counter and took a seat on the stool. “The usual, please.”
“Of course, Gwen, I’m going to have to call you back.” Jade hung up and began to make a cappuccino. Jade looked over to see her toddler now fascinated with a piece of gum under the counter. “Maya Rose, don’t you even think about it.” Why was she so bad at this? There shouldn’t even be gum under the counter!
“Poor child,” the old lady said near the back in a whisper, but not really.
“I know! With her mom always working.”
As if she couldn’t put together that they were talking about her, they took a second to give her the side eye.
After giving her the cappuccino, Eliana seemed to take in the situation. Don’t doubt seeing Jade’s failure.
Then Eliana’s eyes went to Maya. “Maya, what did you do yesterday?”
“I spent the day helping Mom here, then we baked cookies!”
“Was it a good day?”
Maya seemed to consider. “The best!”
Jade almost cried hearing her child’s words.
~*~
Olivia tied knots in her tennis shoes laces, trying her best not to worry. What if her brother didn’t make it? What if her mom didn’t? She hated this stupid waiting room, she hated that the doctors weren’t telling her anything, and she hated the idea of goodbye.
“Where’s the receptionist?” Olivia looked up to see a girl standing by the receptionist's desk. She shrugged. The girl sighed and then walked over. “I’m Elly, you are?”
“Olivia,” she mumbled.
Elly took a seat beside her. “Rough day?”
She’d been here for hours, and the most she got was that her mom was having a C-section, which she knew from TV shows wasn’t good.
She replied with silence.
“Yeah, today hasn’t been easy for me either, but -” her voice seemed to break for a second - talking usually helps, and I’m a good listener if you want to try.”
Olivia drew her knees to her chest. “They said the labor isn't going right, so they’re doing a C-section on my mom.” A tear managed to escape and travel down her jaw. “What if she doesn’t make it?”
Elly looked at her and gave a small smile, and handed her a tissue.
After a moment of silence, the girl looked at her. “Want to play a game?”
Not really. “Like what?”
“Hmm…, truth or dare?”
That’s a wild choice. “Sure.”
Twenty minutes later, Elly was hopping on one leg and trying to sing the alphabet backwards, while Olivia was trying to divide 1,478,375 by 3 while twirling in circles. “I choose truth!”
“Nope!” Elly said with a laugh. “Too late!”
“But I’m getting dizzy!”
“Only three more!”
She was so busy laughing that she almost didn’t notice her dad standing in the entryway, almost. “Dad!”
After getting over the dizziness, she saw how happy her dad looked. He was practically beaming like the sun, and that was when Olivia knew her mom and brother were okay.
“Do you want to come meet your new brother?”
Olivia didn’t think she could stop smiling even if she tried. Before leaving she gave one last twirl for the girl.
Elly threw her head back and laughed.
~*~
“Can I help you?” the lady behind the hospital counter asked.
Finally, she was back.
“I’m looking to see Alexander Grambs?” Eliana gripped the desk’s edge tightly to stop herself from worrying.
“Of course! Right this way.” The nurse led her all the way to the cancer ward and to the room at the end of the hallway.
With a final breathing exercise, Eliana entered. Immediately Alex’s face lit up. “Hey Sunshine!” He was so pale, he was nearly bald, and he was beyond skinny, but he was still Alex, still hers.
She walked over and took a seat. She reached for his hand and squeezed it tight.
“Elly -” His voice was weak.
“I know.” He was dying.
“How long?” How long will you love me?
“Forever.”
The End