“Oh dear, I can’t seem to find where I put my makeup bag. I just had it a minute ago,” announced Mary, scouring the tiny two-bedroom house. “What happened back there? I’m still a bit shaken up, but I can’t seem to remember a thing.”
    “It’s okay honey. Anyway you don’t need it. You know how beautiful you look without all that.”
    “Oh John, aren’t I a little too old for you to be complementing me on my looks?”
    John and Mary Freedmen had celebrated their fifty sixth anneversiary last month and though time had taken a toll on their physique and vitality, the two were inseperable as ever. Their relationship was the kind in which all couples can envy. These two had been awarded the gift promised to every human from the time of their birth. The promise of love and ultimate happiness with another, which so few actually achieve, had been given to them and they basked in it.
    “Well it doesn’t matter anyway Mary. We really must be going.”
    “But to where? You still havn’t told me where we are in such a rush to go to.”
    “Just trust me Mary. It’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay. You’ll see. Now, please can we go?” asked John.
    He started to grow impatient. The pain in his head had been doubling for as long as he could remember.
    “Yes. Yes. Give me two more minutes John. Please.”
    How could he say no? He couldn’t. He didn’t want to leave just as much as Mary. He contemplated the options. None seemed to be in his favor. Throughout his life, John had been a smart and cunning businessman. He had married Mary shortly after graduating from Harvard, where the two first met. Afterward, he moved up in the ranks from one business position to the other, putting away a small fortune for the two to live on. Now in his seventies and his life drawing to an end, John worried about all the tiny mistakes he had made with his time on earth. Was this the way it was supposed to turn out? Had he done everything in his power to make his life worth living? He couldn’t think. The pain inside of his head grew worse and worse as the minutes passed.
    “Mary. We have to go. It’s time to go.”
    “But my bag. I still can’t find my bag. And the mail. I have to go check the box before we go anywhere. A couple more minutes honey, honestly.”
    “Forget the fucking mail Mary. I said we have to go.”
    His eyes were closed in anguish or else he would have been able to see the look his wife gave him. During their fifty six years of marriage, he had never snapped at her like that before.
    “I’m sorry. Just.. just go.”
    John callopsed in his large recliner as Mary walked out the frontdoor. Head rushing and room swirling, he tried to make sense of everything. But how could he think clearly with such pain? He couldn’t; his mind was swimming with ideas he hadn’t thought of yet. What is a man to do in a situation like this? When looking down the barrel of a gun, is better to blink or look back with your last few milliseconds? The pressure in back of his eyes was building. He couldn’t take it anymore. Mary couldn’t see him like this. He needed to be strong, not for himself, but for her. But the pain. It was unbearable. He couldn’t even see straight anymore.
    “There must be something I can do. I can’t just sit here and accept this,” he told himself. Vision blurred and all strength gone from his body, John tried to make his way out of his chair. Halfway up, he fell back down. He couldn’t go any farther. “Keep fighting John. You’re strong.” But he wasn’t. Pain at it’s peak, he did everything in his power not to scream. He had to fight. He could not accept this fate for Mary. The buzzing in his head grew even when he thought it impossible for it to get any louder. And suddenly, clarity. Acceptance. This was not some business deal he could persuade his way. John understood what he must do. Calm now and with the pain gone, he looked up at the door just in time to see Mary walk in with the mail.
    “Those are some strange kids living across the street,” Mary declared as she put the envelopes on the table.
    “What’s that honey?”
    “That couple across the street. They were just outside in the front yard. Just standing there together looking at our house. And when I said hi to them, they didn’t even wave back. Just kept staring, right through me.”
    It was almost humorous at this point. Could she really not see?
    “Come on honey, we have to go now.”
    “Okay okay. Let me just grab my bag.”
    “Trust me. You won’t need it where we’re going.”

    A child runs through the backyard, chasing two blue birds. All the while he remembers his parents’ fight from the night before. Words like life, money, and things called mortgages run through his head. He doesn’t need to ask. He knows he’ll understand when he’s older. The birds rise into the air as his thoughts begin to wander. They are almost out of sight as a young woman calls from the back deck.
    “John. Your lunch is ready. I made your favorite.” Stopping, out of breath, the boy looks over as the woman gracefully moves back into the house.
    “What was I just thinking about?” he asks himself. No bother. It’ll come back. He has a whole lifetime ahead of him to ponder such frivolous things.