Today

"It's a beautiful fall day today," I said when I saw Marian looking at a dvd. Her face seemed to crumble.

"Are you o.k.?"

"No," she whispered and I put my arm around her as she began to sniff. 

"Come, let's go see Lisa," I said as I guided her to the Office. "I have some Kleenex." Marion had often stopped in to tell Lisa about her children, and then, her new grandchild. As it happened, Lisa was on the phone with a patron. I went quickly into Sharon's office and said, "I need you now."

Marion and her husband, Abe, walked to the Library every day no matter what the weather. I recognized Abe as the professor who had taught me about Shakespeare in my undergraduate days. They loved the Library as much as we all do and they enjoyed their daily outing, exuding happiness and contentment in their retirement.

Now Abe is gone, having died in his sleep last July. And today, Marion sobbed in my office. I was a coward and got Sharon to be with her, ostensibly to retrieve my Library keys from where I had dropped them. But the truth is, her pain and grief were so palpable that it hurt my heart to listen to her sobs. After a while, Marion was able to stop crying and said, "I can go on now."

She stopped to chat with Lisa who asked about her grandbaby and Marion visibly brightened up and stood a little straighter. We think it will be a while for Marion to remember Abe without crying. After all, they were married for 59 years and that's a long time to be a couple. It's hard to be single after that.

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The story is true but 'Marion' and 'Abe' are not their real names.