The Burden Of Love (Jonathan Toews)

Ephemeral. 12

"I am" I nod.

"It's a pleasure to meet you son. I'm a big fan of your team, but a bigger fan of you" he claims.

My cheeks get all warm because I love it when old people compliment me. Makes me feel all mushy.

"Thank you. Means a lot coming from a man who has seen a lot of this world" I admit.

"Oh I've seen it all. I was born in 1915, I've lived through two world wars and fought in one of them, made it through a depression, a recession, I marched along side my black brothers and sisters in the civil rights movement and rationed all the things I had during the Vietnam War. There's not much I haven't seen in this complex world. A lot of it hasn't been the best. But the greatest things I know can all fit in this room. Isn't that crazy" he asks.

"I don't think it's too crazy, you can put a lot of faith in what's in this room and it'll get you far" I insist.

"I sure hope so" he nods.

We sit and talk for a while before Kenneth was about to pee his pants. In his defense he had a whole large slushee from the gas station on the way over. So Emilia takes him to relieve himself but not before begging her grandpa to be kind to me. He just sends me a wink and I knew he wasn't going to say anything he shouldn't.

"She really likes you, you know? She never talked to me about a guy before and a week after she met you you're all she would talk about. I don't think she's ever felt like this about anyone before" he tells me.

Okay, so maybe he will say something he shouldn't.

"I didn't know she felt that way" I admit.

"My Emmy is good at a great many things, expression of romantic feelings never was one of them. She feels hard and she feels for a lot of things. But she's a lot better at showing than telling which is both a blessing than a curse. She shows you how she feels and you know it's true, but sometimes it's harder to feel than it is to hear. Especially for someone who has been through as much as she has" he admits.

"But you made sure she grew up in the best of circumstances" I insist.

"We never let her know how bad it got. Her memories of her childhood don't have too much bad because she either didn't know about it or suppressed those times to the back of her mind to protect herself. And I don't blame her, we tried our best with her but it still wasn't a lot. But she vowed that she would get a good job and show us that same kind of love and commitment we showed her.

Our code word, Ephemeral, it means something is a part of us for a short time, to help us get to the next thing that happens. And our bad times were just that, us trying to help her find what she needed to be happy. It was just bad moments in time never meaning to last. For nothing is forever. She understood that from the start so we have that word to remind us.

I couldn't be more proud of her. She took care of me on her own until I needed assistance for most things. I would still be with her if I could but coming here was best for me and for her. She's felt so alone in this world... and now she has you" he tells me.

I sigh a little as I nod my head. "I defiantly feel the pressure, like being a First Lady or something. So many people rely on her for things they need to live. I would be a idiot not to see that. But meaning something to someone that means everything to so many, it's a lot" I insist.

"It is. But I can assure you that her heart chose you as it chose teaching and that means that nothing will come between you guys. No matter how tired or over worked she is she will find a way to make everyone happy. I just pray someone takes care of her while she's doing that" he claims.

"I try my best but she's not one for taking help" I laugh.

"Yeah she's a stubborn one. A pain in the ass sometimes because no matter how many times you ask she won't take a break. But she does everything she does with a absurd amount of love. That's how she does it" he explains.

"Well I'm happy I met her. I'm happy she's shown me all she has and I'm thankful you've been around to show her it first" I admit.

"That means the world to me. I can feel myself growing weaker and I was so worried that the one thing I would leave behind would work herself to death. I myself am ephemeral, my time here isn't unlimited. Meeting you and Kenneth, well it's warmed this old mans heart. I feel a lot better knowing that she's in good hands and you guys will keep her in check" he says.

The room falls silent because I didn't know what to say. All this pressure to mean something to a girl like that can be overwhelming. And once her grandpa is gone more focus shifts to me. I just hope I don't let her down.

"You got dreams son" he randomly asks.

"Many" I assure him.

"What are you willing to do to achieve them" he wonders.

"Almost anything" I admit.

"Then keep my baby girl in your dreams and don't let her go. Even if it feels like she's pushing you away, hold on tighter. Because I spent 70 years with my soulmate and every dream I had, she made it better. Life is so much better spent with someone who you feel like is made for you" he tells me.

"You're a wise man George, and I'm lucky to know you" I insist.

"It was such a pleasure to meet you too" he smiles.