The Love Bench

Dolly sat at the old worn bench and traced the initials “D + B” carefully carved in the wood. She was waiting for her lover. Everyday they sit here and talk about their children and grandchildren. It’s like a game to them, trying to see who knows the latest news from their children’s busy lives. Penny, their 16 year-old granddaughter had recently acquired a boyfriend and Dolly chuckled to herself recalling the teasing she did yesterday. She couldn’t wait to giggle over it with her best friend and husband, Bert. 

Dolly impatiently tapped her watch and noting the time, uttered under her breath “that’s strange.” Bert was five minutes late. That man has never been late a day in his life. She settled a little deeper into the seat and took in her surroundings. A warm breeze blew across the park and ruffled the feathers of a duck and her ducklings making their way towards the pond. She smiled as she saw a young couple approach the park’s gazebo to take their vows of marriage. At a bench further down, a woman dressed in scrubs sat with her legs crossed. Dolly pretended Bert was there, guessing what the woman’s occupation was and what crisis she was going through. In their old age, and even before I suppose, Dolly and Bert enjoyed sitting at this bench and watching the world go by. Their lives were always so busy with balancing their love of one another and caring for their four children. This bench was their meeting place to just breathe and be next to one another without distraction. In the family this bench was known as “the love bench” because it was where Dolly and Bert met, kissed after their first date, got engaged, and where they conceived their son, Charles. But that last part is a secret. They even got married in that gazebo across the way. Just like that young couple. The bride’s red hair reminded Dolly of her own, long since gone white and light like the downy fluff on the ducklings. 

“Excuse me mam, can I sit with you?” the bride asked. 

“Sure! A bride should have anything and everything on her wedding day,” Dolly replied as she scooted over a little more to accommodate for the bride’s gown. “Do you need a breather?” Dolly said knowingly.

The bride gave a half smile and sat down next to the old woman with a sigh. “Yeah. This whole wedding thing is exhausting.” 

“Well, you have quite a handsome man over there,” Dolly said with a wink and a nudge. The girl giggled and thanked her.

“I’m not going to ask you if you’re happy. Everyone asks that. But does he make you laugh?” Dolly inquired. 

“Always,” the bride answered with an ear-to-ear grin.

“Oh! How wonderful! You’ll never have a dull moment then. I know from experience. Sometimes I wonder if my husband has a serious bone in his body!” she said animatedly. The two of them had a good laugh. 

“But seriously dear, you’ll look back on this day and remember it as the beautiful day it is, despite any issues that crop up.”

The bride’s eyes watered and her voice came out a little choked when she said “You’re right. Thank you, this was just what I needed.”

Then the bride took her leave and Dolly found herself once again waiting for Bert to join her. 

The next day, Dolly finally got to sit at the love bench with Bert. He took her wrinkled hand and brought it to his lips. 

“Wow, I’m sitting next to you, beautiful? I should go buy into the lottery with my luck today,” Bert said playfully. Oh, she never got tired of his silly pick up lines. 

Dolly laughed and reached for his hand. Once their knobby knuckles were entwined, she rested her head on his shoulder. 

She looked up at him with blue eyes twinkling and said, “What trouble did you get into today?” 

She knew full well what Bert did but she wanted to feel his chest vibrate with the sound of his deep voice. She wasn’t disappointed.

“I went and visited Julie and Penny.”

“And how is our darling daughter and granddaughter?”

“Great! Penny was telling me all about her trip to the zoo for her first grade field trip. Did you know they have baby snow leopards up there right now? I helped Penny pick out name suggestions to submit.” Bert said as he ran his hand through his receding chocolate-brown hair. The specks of gray in it were few and far between.

“Oh yeah? What are the names you two came up with?” Dolly inquired.

“Well, she picked “Barbie,” of course. Would you expect her to come up with anything else?” he chuckled. “I asked her why. Her answer was “Because she’s beautiful.” So I told her the name I was picking for the other one was “Dolly.” She asked me why and my answer was “Because she’s beautiful.” Penny agreed.”

“Aww that’s cute. Are you trying to soften me up?” Dolly said, sitting up to give him the squinty eyes. 

In mock horror, Bert said “Goodness no! That would be so rude.” After a pause, he began again “You know, I got a whiff of some delicious chicken pot pie on the way here. Do you think you could make that for dinner?”

“Ah, there it is,” Dolly laughed. “Yes, I’ll make that tonight.”

“Sounds good to me!” Bert stood and offered Dolly his hand. “Let’s go home.”

 The lady in the scrubs that always sat a few benches down was a nurse from River Oaks Nursing Home. The nurse approached Dolly to take her back to the nursing home for her cooking class and was deeply saddened by the loss of a beautiful soul. However, she was grateful that Dolly had a good day yesterday considering the stage of her Alzheimer’s. The death of a patient sometimes sits a little easier on the heart when it happens like that. At the funeral Penny clung to a picture of her in her wedding dress sitting next to her grandma, Dolly, on the love bench.