Memories of Jack & Eliza (BWWM)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Eliza

                       Later that night, we found out that Thomas's friend Vanessa was taken off her life support and passed. Thomas sent me a voicemail, with a heavy voice and warm tears in his eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that Vanessa passed. The other day was the last day for the doctors to hold her. She was not lucky like Jack, but I am lucky and grateful that you guys stopped by. I am sure she appreciated it. I am going to head back to England," The call ended, there was another voicemail left.

          "Hello Eliza, the call ended but like I was saying--I am sorry if I caused any trouble in your life. You are an amazing girl and I owe all of my happiness to you, love. Tell Jack that I am very sorry again, and not to worry. We will have a funeral in England. Thank you again, Eliza," His accent was all over these words. My eyes watered at the thought of his doing the same. He and I were alike in a way, but in every other way, we are not. My chest clenched throughout the night, the sadness drowned over me, and I think it was pouring onto me from Jack's body. I am not used to this grave emotion. I had to lay with my eyes opened for a while, before I felt the need to go back to sleep. I do not dream. My eyelids meet the darkness behind them; no words came out of my mouth.

                    When I woke up, Jack had already made us some breakfast. The smell of bacon was in the air, and it made me smile. I rose up with Jack's footsteps around me and his voice near. "I know, I know, can I just come in later today? Sometime?" I knew who was talking to. "Jack," I call to him. "Eliza?" I get out of the bed and go to the kitchen where he is grabbing something out of the fridge. "Hey honey," I say to him, "Hi," He comes close to me and kisses my cheek, "Sorry about my breath," Jack mentions and I brush it off. "I have woken up with you for so many years, I don't care." These were the things that didn't matter anymore after a while.

                      He smiled, and I realized that: that was the thing that mattered the most. "When are you going in?" I asked him, referring to the call he made. "A couple hours after noon," he says briefly, and I do not know if he was aware of what I was going to ask next. "Can I join? Maybe we can talk together," His eyes flicker to mine and I cannot tell his emotion. "I'd like that," It sounded like we just made a date. "Let me cater you with something that is not cooked food and holiday movies," He laughed, and it made the previous clenching feeling go away, "Ohhh, our holiday traditions are lame now, I see," Jack puts his hands up in defense, I see the black ring we share, glimmer in the lights. "No never, I am just begging myself not to make this such a sad day." By the look in his eyes, I know he heard the voicemail. That is why we are going to see Dr. Lund. "Do you want to hear a holiday memory that isn't that bad?

                   "So on Christmas Eve, my mother tried to help me make cookies for Santa, and my dad went with it for a little while. We made three kinds of cookies, chocolate chip, macadamia nut, and oatmeal. I always asked my mom which one she thought Santa liked the most and she said he would eat anything we put out because he was fat." I laugh her because this sound just like his mother. "So we leave the cookies out before my bed time, and my father comes in and we say our prayers."

                I know those memories were important to him, because of the look in his eyes. "The next morning my mom would play loud music, my dad would yell at her and I'd sit near the Christmas tree and watch them share a kiss under the mistletoe near the door. I would open my presents and my mom would take pictures of me. This happened until I was about 8 years old. Around the age of six, my father told me Santa was not real. And every year after that, we made cookies for each other." He tells the story as if he had his eyes closed and watched it.