He sat on the edge of his seat, while she looked at him. They’d been together for so long, seen so many things together, and been through the good and the bad. It was hard to believe that she was the only constant in his life up till this point.
They’d met in highschool, and been together ever since. He was now in his late 20’s, and knew she would be leaving him soon. Don’t misunderstand: She wasn’t unhappy, there wasn’t another woman, and he wasn’t going to walk out. But it was the way life had dealt the hand. Her condition had been known from the start, they both knew that he would outlive her. Tonight they simply sat and watched each other, giving each other that knowing look. Whoever blinked first was largely forgotten by both parties the next day, however as the years passed by, the number of next days was uncertain.
“As soon as this is done, I’m going to make dinner”, he told her as he gestured toward the kitchen. She followed his gaze but said nothing. She was a professional at these staring matches. Her record had nearly 4 times more wins than losses. She only ‘stared’ with him, so those losses were all in his stats as well.
“You can’t watch me forever!”, he playfully told her. She still said nothing – concentrating as hard as she could. This was a battle, after all.
As they sat in the bedroom, him on the chair, her on the bed, they were surrounded by memories of their life together. The toys of youth, the casual messiness of their belongings that bothered neither him nor her, and of course, the bed that they shared. In the mornings, light would stream on to it, waking both of them up. Some mornings he would rise early while she stayed asleep. Other mornings she would be up, the veritable ball of energy, moving around the house, eating breakfast, watching the world outside. She worked in the home, and wished he could as well. They were perfect for each other, which is why the inevitable end was so hard to understand. Why would their creator put them together like this, and then yank them apart so soon.
“HA – you blinked!” he said with delight. He had won one, the first in a long time. They then both went toward the kitchen, ready for their dinner. For now, all was right in the world.
[SSDay]