Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Fearful (08/23/07)
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TITLE: Silent Partners | Previous Challenge Entry
By Heather Norwood
08/24/07 -
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“Ella, what’s wrong?” Jason had come back from the bathroom, his stray hairs put back where they are supposed to go, his brow creased with his question.
“No, nothing.” Her reverie disrupted, she smiled weakly, looking up at him next to her chair, “sit down, won’t you?” She disliked it when he drew attention to her, so painfully shy sometimes.
Instead of sitting, he dropped to a knee, “Ella.”
Her eyes went wide. No, not in public, oh my goodness. Cheeks burned crimson, embarrassed and angry, her eyes begged him to stop.
Jason sighed. He wanted witnesses, people to hear what he was about to say; when other people share memories, sometimes, it makes it more real, otherwise it could have been a dream. Jason wanted his proposal to be more solid than that, more down to earth. He kissed Ella’s hand, “I love you.”
Sitting down in the chair opposite her, he said, “You know, people are going to be there when we get married, and they are all going to be looking at you, staring at you, and taking pictures.”
The waiter arrived with two platters of roasted duckling in orange sauce, steaming and aromatic. He placed them on the white linen tablecloth and unfolded Ella’s napkin, offering it to her. She placed it in her lap. “Would the lady care for anything else?”
Ella shook her head, unable to lift her gaze from her plate.
“No, that will be all,” Jason said in her stead.
**
That night in her bed, Ella and Jason became those withered couples; a whole restaurant teemed with silent partners all bearing Ella and Jason’s faces. Their eyes were dull and lifeless. Wine had no flavor, food no satisfaction; the blandness of their marriage spilled into every aspect of life. The flowers had all wilted, the candles blown out and giving off that acrid vapor.
She awoke with a start, upset, nearly crying, knowing she had to apologize to Jason for ruining what he had planned. Ella looked at the clock. 4 a.m.
Unable to wait, she picked up the phone. 1#- Jason on speed dial. The line clicked on the other side and a groan issued into the earpiece.
“Jason, I’m sorry about last night. I know the thought you put into the dinner, the reservations, the poem you wrote and I ruined it and I’m sorry.” Words came rushing out of her mouth, flooding his ears. “Please, I just need to know something; I just need to know that we are not going to end up like those couples who don’t talk anymore, who don’t care anymore. It’s not that I don’t want to marry you, or that I don’t want you to propose in public, it’s just that I need to know we won’t end up like that.” Tears were running down her face in quiet procession.
A short pause. “Honey, what is love?”
“1 Corinthians 13.”
“Do you believe me when I say that I will love you forever?”
She recited the verses in her head, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
“Our love leaves no room for my nightmare,” she whispered.
Jason smiled, “No, it does not.”
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