Ten Years After That Rainy Evening
Time flies like the wind through the maple trees.
It has been ten years since that rainy night when I – Sarah Miller Parker – held the hand of that limping man and started life over.
Now, the small wooden house on the outskirts of Burlington, Vermont, is filled with the golden colors of autumn.
Each morning, James still makes me a cup of warm tea – made his way: not too long boiling water, light cinnamon scent, a thin slice of orange.
He says:
“Autumn tea should taste like home – a little warm, a little bitter, and full of love.”
I smile, seeing his hair which has turned more gray, and his gait which still limps.
Only, I have never seen a “flaw” in those legs – only a man who is always steadfast beside me, even when life is shaky.
For the past ten years, our lives have been simple:
He still works as an electronics repairman, and I run a small pastry shop in the town center.
In the afternoon, we sit on the porch, sipping tea and listening to the maple leaves fall.
But this autumn is different.
James started coughing a lot, and then one day he fainted in the repair shop.
The doctor at the hospital spoke softly but firmly:
“He has a heart problem. He needs surgery soon.”
I was sh0cked.
He held my hand and smiled softly:
“Don’t look so scared, Sarah. I’ve fixed broken things all my life… I’ll fix this one too.”
I broke out tears.
Not because I was afraid of losing him – but because for the first time, I realized how much I loved him.
The surgery lasted 6 hours.
I sat in the cold hallway, praying for him.
When the doctor came out, he smiled softly:
“The surgery was successful. He is a very strong man.”
I bowed my head, tears falling – not because of fear, but because I knew that God had given me more time with him.
As James woke up, he whispered:
“I dreamed that you were making tea. I knew I couldn’t go anywhere because I hadn’t had that cup of tea yet.”
I held his hand, laughing and crying:
“I will make it for you forever, as long as you are here.”
After the surgery, I took time off work to take care of him.
Every morning, I read to him; every afternoon, he sat by the window, watching the maple leaves fall on the porch.
One time, he said:
“Sarah, do you know why I love autumn?”
“Because it is beautiful?” – I replied.
“No. Because it taught me that, even if things fall apart, they can still bloom again next season. Just like us – even though we met late, this love still bloomed in time.”
I put the cup of tea in his hand and whispered:
“And we will have many more autumns, James.”
He smiled.
I knew that smile was the answer to everything.
