What Matilda Wants, Matilda Gets

Terrence Roberts opened his eyes as the first rays of sunshine shredded through the closed blinds, heralding the start of a new day. He glanced at his watch: six-thirty. He took a few moments to oust himself fully from sleep, then slowly turned over to gaze at the woman lying next to him. His wife of fifty-six years was barely visible under the blankets. Matilda breathed slowly, deeply; he could see the blanket rising and falling slowly with each breath. As he gazed at her his heart swelled with love for this lady.

Their marriage, like any other, had had its ups and downs but they had clung together through all adversities. Today was their wedding anniversary. They had met fifty-eight years ago and had courted for almost two years before Terrence had got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. She had said yes without any hesitation. They tied the knot four months later.

Matilda had borne Terrence two children. Martin, their firstborn, had his own family now. He had married a sweet girl named Sarah. They had two beautiful daughters, both of whom were in their late twenties: Natalie and Amelia. Terrence and Matilda's second child, Beatrice, had been born two years after Martin. Beatrice died at four months old. Matilda had discovered Beatrice dead in her cot one horrible, heartbreaking day. No reason was ever discovered for their daughter's death. Nowadays, though, Beatrice's cause of death would be labelled as SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Matilda was a nurse when she and Terrence had first met. In the late 1970's hospice became an established thing for end of life patients, and Matilda had decided that was where she was most useful. Matilda had truly loved her job. She had looked upon hospice as a calling. The fact that she could help her patients and their families in the darkest hours of their lives uplifted her and brought meaning to her own life.

She would often sit with Terrence at the end of the day and tell him stories about her patients. These stories were not maudlin, but instead were full of hope for a future beyond death. Matilda sensed that in a dying person's final moments, when they were almost free of the pain and suffering, a change would come over them. Matilda called it a spiritual awakening. She had come to understand that at the final moments of a person's life they seemed to sense something, or someone, waiting to help them pass. The many end-of-life moments Matilda had witnessed over the years gave her total faith in continuation of life after death. Matilda only hoped that when it was her time, she would be able to accept death with the same strength that she saw in many of the people who passed under her care.

Terrence had been a cop throughout his career. That was how he and Matilda had met. She had been on duty in the local hospital when Terrence had helped bring in a prisoner that needed patching up. Matilda had helped to clean the man up while waiting for a doctor. The pair had chatted and hit it off straightaway. They had been together ever since.

—

Terrence sat up slowly, so as not to wake Matilda, and slid his legs over the side of the bed, feeling all his seventy-eight years. His whole body ached. Forcing himself carefully up off the mattress he took another look at Matilda. Good, she was still sleeping.

Today, as he did on every anniversary, he would make her breakfast in bed. It was one of their rituals. Why should today be any different? He shuffled into his slippers, grabbed his dark blue robe off the chair next to the bed, and slipped it on over his striped pajamas. He made his way over to the bedroom door and pulled it open, slowly, trying to avoid the squeaking of the hinges. Matilda had repeatedly asked him to oil them, but he had never got around to doing it.

Entering the kitchen, he went over to the window and opened the blind, letting a new day enter the house. He gazed out the window for a few moments, looking at the small garden full of flowers in full bloom. The flowers lovingly planted by Matilda. The kitchen was painted a bright, sunny yellow. Matilda loved bright, warm colors, as was reflected throughout the whole house. She felt that when the sunshine splashed through the windows and lit up the brightly colored walls, the house truly became alive with warmth and life.