You Should’ve Been There
“Almost there,” said the man in white. “Just one more time, love.”
The woman in the hospital bed was tired. Exhausted. Her entire body felt like it was breaking; cracking from the base of her spine into a million little pieces. Sweat plastered strands of dark hair to her neck, and her breath came in ragged gasps. It hurt – it hurt so much. She never thought it would be this bad. But the hands that gripped the bedrails were strong – the desperation coursed through her and she gave a fierce sob.
A cry split the air.
It was over; she fell back onto the bed and wept.
“Congratulations,” smiled the man in white. “It’s a girl.”
A phone nearby crackled and a nurse came up to hand it to the new mother. “Ma’am? Your husband would like to speak with you.”
Smiles. Relief. Intense, searing joy.
“Sweetheart?” a frantic voice sounded from the other end. “Darling, are you all right?”
She couldn’t answer him; she just smiled and wept.
The voice pleaded again. “Darling, please talk to me! Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she gasped out. The doctor was handing her her child – it immediately stopped crying. Large, dark eyes opened to a new world.
“Hello, sweetheart,” the mother whispered, tenderly stroking its head. The child yawned.
The voice from the phone became excited; “Sweetheart? How is she?”
The mother smiled. “Beautiful.”
“Beautiful,” marvelled the young father. Thousands of miles away, the soldier sat down on a wooden crate. He put his face in his hands and cried his own tears.
The soft voice he loved so much came from the phone he clutched in his hand:
“You should’ve been there.”
***
A young man stepped out of a cab and into a puddle of rain. He squinted against the downpour, running to the revolving doors of his successful company. Specks of mud stained his tailored suit, and his black shoes no longer shone.
Mentally, he cursed the weather.
Within the calm interior, he pressed the phone to his ear a little tighter.
“Sorry, what did you say?” the businessman asked in his smooth, suave voice.
“I said the funeral just ended.”
The voice was calmly reproachful. A cool hatred simmered beneath his brother’s words.
“Oh. How did it go?” said the successful businessman, now stepping into an elevator.
“It was everything he deserved to have. Hundreds of people showed up.”
The young man remained silent, coming to his floor. He stepped out and briskly set out towards his spacious office, designed by the best. What a relief it will be to sit in his large black chair.
