Eddison James Winston was leaving the hospital, with a diagnosis of hypochondria. He faked the anxiety attack and told the doctors it was due to his loneliness and boredom and that he was paranoid because he felt as though he always needed to keep moving, to do something productive or he'd die. He even over dramatized it for the doctors and he almost had 'em, but his wife saw right through him. They had just been there not too long ago. His heart couldn’t take all the work he tried to do all in one day. The stress was draining the life out of him, literally.
His wife, Ella, was a couple years younger than him and she still taught at Banks High School. He had just started his retirement from the law office. He was jealous of her work life and against his will and better judgment had gone into retirement. Unfortunately, according to wife, retirement was about relaxation, a gift for working so hard all those previous years, and she ordered him to sit in his chair, watch T.V. and put little strain on his heart all day.
Ella got up early in order to prepare him breakfast before she head off to work. She left the food in the oven to stay warm so that her husband could sleep in. She'd always make sure to kiss him goodbye before leaving because she knew he just lay in bed pretending to sleep until she left the house.
Since retiring, Eddie would get up only after his wife left. He'd lie in bed until she came in to say goodbye and wish him a great day, but he believed she was truly just rubbing in his face the fact that he was in retirement.
One day Eddie decided to spend the afternoon on the front porch. He wanted to watch the people working fix houses and install satellite dishes among other things. He figured he could live vicariously through them. His first day this child skipped around the neighborhood playing with some toys and came up to admire his wife's garden, he had originally thought the child was a boy, but it turned out to be a girl who cut all her hair off. He figured nowadays it was something the kids must have thought was cool so he just went with it. Everyday, around the same time over the next week, the girl came back. She'd play with her toys, skip around, use chalk to color the sidewalks, and even sit on her front porch, only two doors down, and color. One fine Monday morning when the little girl came back Eddie decided that his curiosity had built up so much that he was going to ask her about her hair.
"Hey, what's your name?" Eddie asked politely.
"Sarah Martin, what's yours?" she asked in return.
"Eddie Winston. Say, you come her to look at the flowers everyday. I was wondering why you wear that scarf?" Eddie asked curiously.
She automatically reached up and touched her florally covered head. "Well I wasn't feeling well and Dr. Garrett said that if I let him cut off my hair, I'd feel better," she said matter-of-factly.
“Why aren’t you at school?”, asked Eddie.
“That big truck with the lights that make loud noises picked me up on day. The people in the truck brought me to see the doctors. My mommy and daddy said they wanted to watch me closely.”
"How old are you Sarah?"
"I'm six, but I'm gonna be seven next month. My daddy said that makes me a big girl."
"Really? Are you gonna have a party with all your friends?"
"My mommy and daddy will be there and they're bringing my dolls, and you're my friend now, so you can come too," Sarah replied.
“Oh, well thanks for the invitation Sarah. Can I bring my wife Ella?"
"Yes. I like dolls and candy if you didn't know what to get me" Ella said as she smiled deviously. Eddie smiled, what a sweet girl. She said it was time for her to go back inside, but that she'd come back the next day to play with her new friend.
Eddie and Sarah colored on the porch and reading books: Eddie was helping her learn to read chapter books. Sarah introduced Eddie to some of her favorite new children's shows and movies, and in return, Eddie took Sarah on walks around the park and on trips to get her favorite ice cream. They planted more flowers in the garden for passersby to admire, Sarah could never get over their beauty.
________________________________________________________________________
Eddie and Ella walked over to the Martin house for Sarah's birthday party, they hadn’t really had time to talk to their neighbors in a while. The Martin house was decorated with streamers and pictures of Sarah hung on every inch of the walls. Sarah greeted the elderly couple as soon as they'd stepped through the door. She was excited for them to arrive because she'd been itching for cake and ice cream all day. Sarah had the adults wear party hats and throw confetti in the air after she blew out the candles. Mr. and Mrs. Martin went to the kitchen to cut the cake and retrieve the ice cream. Eddie and Ella sat down at the table with Sarah as she eagerly awaited her birthday treat.
"So Sarah, what did you wish for?" asked Ella.
"If I told you Mrs. Ella, it might not come true, that's what my Daddy says" replied Sarah
"Then where's your wish list?" asked Eddie
"Wish list?" Sarah asked intrigued
Eddie gasped dramatically fully catching the little girl's attention. "Everyone has a birthday wish list Sarah. When I was little mine was a mile long and my mother used to say that just looking at the list gave her heart failure," Eddie chuckled recalling his childhood. "And if someone can't get it for your birthday you can make it yourself"
"Oh, well I forgot to ask for new doll to play with. Can we make one?" asked Sarah
"Of course, you and me are going to start doll making next week. How about we take a trip to the dollar store on Monday, sound okay?"
"YAY!" Sarah exclaimed as she jumped up to hug Eddie. The smile on that little girl's face was all he needed. He wished he could keep that smile forever.
________________________________________________________________________
When Ella got home that evening she went immediately to the kitchen to help her husband. He’d gone to the store and bought some ice cream and pulled some flowers out of the garden. He stuck the flowers in some water and sighed, it would be a long night. Ella reached the kitchen to find noodles everywhere. There were bits of chicken in the grates of the stove, and there was a yellow liquid covering the floor. There were pots piled high in the sink, their bottoms as black as night. The smell hit her immediately; it was as if something had died. The trash was overflowing with paper towels, soup cans, and noodles: a simple substance running down the sides of the bag. She found Eddie huffing and puffing over the stove. He cried out the most unearthly of noises. He picked up the pot on the stove and threw it on the ground, which made Ella jump. She grabbed her husband’s arm and led him to a seat at the kitchen table. She picked up the pot, washed it out, and took over the cooking.
When she’s done, Ella packaged up the soups and led her husband to the car. She drove him to what seemed to have become their home away from home; they’d been there too much in such a short length of time. When they walked through the door some of the men and women in scrubs recognized them. They rushed to help thinking Eddie was once again the patients. When they arrived at Sarah's room she was sleeping. They sat in the hallway for a few minutes talking to Sarah's parents. When she woke up Eddie went in for a visit.
"Rise and Shine" Eddie greeted trying to force a smile as he walked into the room.
"Hi! You came to visit? You know, I'm gonna be back home tomorrow. Can we go get ice cream?" asked Sarah.
“Already done,” said Eddie catching the smile one her face as if it were a disease. "We can get anything else you want as soon as you get better. How do you feel?" inquired Eddie.
"Fine. This place is so big and it's cold in here, but everyone is so nice and they bring me this disgusting pudding." Sarah scrunched up her face and lifted her finger to her tongue.
"Hmm, well I spent the day preparing the perfect dinner for my best friend," replied Eddie as he handed Sarah the tub of soup.
"Are those flowers? They’re big- just like me,” Sarah exclaimed as she started to dig in.
"Oh, did you want some?" she asked
Eddie gives a full and hearty laugh as he replied, "Well I didn't come all the way to the hospital with this delicious tub of soup for you to eat alone, now did I?". The two had been eating for a while when Sarah looked up at Eddie. She looked sad.
"I'm gonna miss you best friend" Sarah told Eddie
"What do you mean 'miss me'?" Eddie asked
"I'm gonna die and go live in heaven with fuzz ball," replied Sarah, so sure of herself.
"Who is fuzz ball?" is all Eddie could say in response to Sarah's revelation.
"My gerbil silly!" Sarah exclaimed through fits of laughter, looking at the confused expression on Eddie's face.
Eddie walked into the house and heard the phone ring. He left Ella to go answer and just walked up the stairs and into their bedroom. He was so tired, it had been a long day so he immediately fell asleep. Not long after he’d fell asleep was he gently prodded awake. He looked up to find Ella sitting on the bed directly beside him. She looked upset and apologized for waking him. Ella’s voice goes soft and she starts to ramble on and apologize. Small tears begin to run down her face and she rubs his back in a comforting way as if he were a fragile toddler. Eddie smiled a soft sweet smile as the tears slowly started to fall down his cheeks as well. When it became too much he sat up and just let it all out. Ella arms were already finding their way around his body, wrapping him in a warm and loving embrace. As he cried the memories of his friend flashed before his eyes. He couldn’t stop picturing the two of them planting flowers in the garden. The way he saw it the flowers were like their growing friendship, its beauty infinite. He realized that he had never noticed the flowers before Sarah showed up. He looked up to the heavens and promised her that from then on he was going to notice all the beauty nature had to offer. That in order to honor Sarah he'd live life for her, seeing the beauty and life in everything, even when it’s not obvious. He would do this for the life she wouldn't get to live and for the rest of the beauty in the world she would never know.