MEMORIES (a fiction, cont'd)

her day went fairly uneventful until about dinnertime.  tickles was reminding her that having to feed herself was not an option today, so she went to the kitchen, watching carefully for the meandering tickles, and put down a bowl of kitty lickings tuna for her.  that done, she set herself to the task of her own meal.........what should she have?  after gazing in the freezer long enough to create ice crystals on the freezer ledge, she chose a package of chicken filets.  you can always do wonders with chicken filets.  there seldom was any chicken at all in the freezer when david had been alive.  he detested chicken, which was about the only thing she and he disagreed over.  when they would go out to dine ocassionally, she made it a point to order some sort of chicken dish.  he would grin at her from across the table, reach over and pat her hand, and say "enjoy, my love, for it may be another month before you enjoy again".  she always withdrew her hand quickly, smacked his playfully, and said "oh, you just don't know what i eat when you are not home!".  this was a sort of game for them.  when they had first married, she remembered how when she would fix a chicken dish for supper, he would get in the kitchen after she was done, and fix himself some noodles with butter and garlic.  after having this happen several times, she just gave up and stopped preparing chicken when david was home for lunch or dinner.  tonight, she prepared herself a nice little chicken cacciatore and sat in the living area, watching some television as she ate.  after cleaning away the dishes, she retired to her solace room, a room she and david had set up a few years after their daughter had moved out to go to college.  it was painted a nice muted yellow, the ceiling painted sky blue, and with a mural painted on one wall by david himself.  in the far upper right corner of the mural was a small depiction of an angel, watching over the couple portrayed in the main part of the mural.  when she looked at this mural now, she visually deleted david from the center, and placed him in the upper right corner.  he was her guardian angel.  in the middle of the room, a table was placed with a large family bible upon it, open.  there was also a picture of david, and of their daughter, along with a couple of taper candles.  sometimes when a neighbor would visit, they would comment on the "shrine" she had set up.  call it whatever they wanted, it gave her peace to see it there.  in the corner opposite the mural was an old rocking chair, salvaged from an old abandoned farm house by david, years ago.  he had seen an estate sale on his way home from a conference in another state, and upon entering and seeing some rather delapidated chairs and tables in the corner of the room, asked how much for the rocker.  the woman had said those were to be burned later, but if he wanted it, he could have it.  he took it apart to get it into the car, and brought it home.  he restored it to a beauty to behold, and it had sat in that corner ever since.  she had made a nice little quilted padding for it, and relished sitting in it to read, or to do a little cross-stitching.  on this occasion, she was looking at a few of the love letters david had sent her when he was in the service many years before.  she kept them tucked in a smaller bible by the rocker.  she layed her head back, holding the letters to her chest, and before long, fell asleep.  what was to happen next would confuse her in the months to come, and bring about joy, love, and fear........................