Celebrating life

Celebrating life

They met in high school and fell in love. It was not a young love that ended after the vacations; it was a love that crossed oceans and was not overcome by gray clouds and storms.


Ed, after finishing high school, studied economics at the University of Carabobo, and at the age of 23, he graduated. He looked for a job at the same university and got a few hours of class time. At the age of 25, he was sitting in Gonzalez's living room to ask Rose to marry him.

They were the ideal bride and groom. Rose's friends wanted to be like her and have a faithful sweetheart like Ed.

Soon they got married and rented an apartment in the center of Valencia. It was a noisy place but it was close to everything: the university, a park, the museum, a movie theater, supermarkets, and a bakery that sold the most delicious cappuccino coffee in town.

Rose had finished studying to be an office assistant and filled out several job applications but Ed didn't want her to work so she didn't insist on getting a job. She liked to walk in the afternoons in the park; feed the pigeons, and although the squirrels scared her a little, she too would take some food to them.

They were happy; they made plans to travel to Europe and visit the Prado Museum. Ed wanted to have 5 children and Rose only 2; they laughed endlessly and never agreed on the number of children. They made long lists of the names they liked the most: Frank, Eduard, Rose, Camila, Zulma, Anastasia, Pamela, and José were the preferred names. They enjoyed both rainy sunrises and sunny days. The chocolate ice cream was as tasty as oatmeal with no sugar or milk. Love is almighty in a couple in loves.

Ed's job at the university didn't pay well because he had few class hours so they had to do a lot of saving to buy a used car that would allow Ed to work two jobs. It had been two years after the marriage, and the canary songs could be heard as the day Ed approached Rose, in high school, to tell her she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

Ed worked at the Valencia racetrack as a financial advisor. He had always had a passion for horses and began to get involved with betting.

Good winnings on Arabian colt purchases and several winning bets changed their lives in one fell swoop. Ed and Rose bought a house in a middle-class development, far from the noisy city center. The couple's dreams were no longer cloud shapes in the sky.

Their new living status had changed their social life and habits. Ed drank every day and gambled more and more on horse betting.

The clouds in the sky changed shape, and good luck turned to bad luck. With no earnings as a consultant and Ed's addictions, debt began to creep in. Rose went back to looking for work until finally; a small travel agency hired her.

Ed was dismissed from the college for his absences and his drinking problem. He was still advising several horse farm owners but only earned by arranged contracts, and none had been produced.

When Ed was sober, chocolate ice cream was just as tasty as oatmeal without sugar or milk, but that was not the norm in those days.

Before long they lost everything. Ed hung on to gambling, and Rose wasn't earning enough to support both of their lives. They had to rent an apartment, a very small one, in the suburbs of the city and change their lifestyle.

Ed lost his job as a consultant at the racetrack and fell into a depressive state. Bad news always comes together so during the financial meltdown Ed, after a fainting spell, learned he had a congenital disease that was related to his liver.

The hospital walls looked like a giant coffin to Ed's eyes.

“We'll have to start from scratch,” Ed said.

“We can't anymore, love. We have to start from where we are” Rose replied calmly.

“Well, what a legacy I'll leave my children," he said sadly.

“Our legacy will be our love and our attitude to persevere even with the obstacles that may come our way," Rose said, looking at her husband.

“Our story is like many love stories. So far we have been luckier than any Shakespearean novel;” she continued folding some shirts she was putting in a bag. “We are human beings, no different from anyone else and no equal to anyone else. But we have something that others don't have. You have me, and I have you. We are unique in the universe. Someone has said this before, and it will be the only time I say it to you. You and I are not part of something; we are the whole of something”.

Ed could see Rose packing her things in her bag to be discharged from the hospital. He took a breath of air as if he wanted to inflate his lungs forever from the blissful atmosphere of having Rose near him.

“I want to witness our story. I want to see what happens next”.

“I'm sure you do. We'll make it!”

Ed began attending AA. He started financial counseling from home, and Rose received a promotion at her job.

Very slow, they overcame the economic problems; and the earth continued to spin without the oceans overflowing.

One rainy day, while Ed watched a movie on TV, and ate popcorn, Rose rested on his lap. Their hands intertwined, and the song of canaries rang in their heads.

She was two months old carrying their inheritance in her womb.

Staying together was a choice they both celebrated in silence from their hearts because the DNA of the universe is still, to be sure, unknown.

Source: Pixabay

With this story I want to participate in the fiction challenge organized by @theinkwell Prompt #48: Inheritance..


I hope you like it.

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Story @marcybetancourt
© Jan 2022, Marcy Betancourt. All rights reserved

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