I placed the worn bookmark between the pages. “What would you like, Hun?
Do you want juice?”
She shook her head. “Is Vanessa home yet?”
“Georgia, Vanessa is in Ohio. She’s not here.” I replied.
“Oh! I forgot.” she smiled weakly.
I made her a cup of tea. She sipped it carefully as she stared blankly at the television. The bookmark rested on my thigh again. “Michael?”
I looked up. “Yes?”
“Is Vanessa home yet?” Georgia asked again.
“She’s still in Ohio, Hun.”
“Oh, right. I forgot.” Her eyes closed. She drifted off to sleep.
I placed my bookmark between the pages, put my book down and went to bed. Tears filled my eyes. I wished my wife could climb the stairs to join me.
*********************************
The bookmark stretched across my stomach, I held my book in front of me, not reading. On the television, a sitcom blared unwatched. My friends had left. Justin slept in his room. Vanessa, who came from Ohio, slept in the spare room. Georgia’s ashes rested in her urn on the credenza. My children were with me again, but I was alone.
I grabbed the bookmark, marked my spot, and carried my book to my empty bed. “Lord, I don’t want to be alone.” I prayed. “I want love in my life.”
*********************************
The sun warmed my back. Ginny sat in the chair across the patio table from me. Love was in my life again. I lifted the bookmark from my lap, marked my page, stared at her, and said, “Ginny, I love you.”
She looked up, put her book down, and smiled at me. “I love you too.”
“I love you more.” I smiled back. “Now back to our reading.”
We picked up our books and read. The bookmark rested on my lap.
*********************************
Ginny slept beside me on the sofa. I spread my bookmark across her thigh and stared at it. The white fringes were long gone. There’s a spot where it must have torn. I don’t remember when, but I can see the loving stitches that hold it together. The whites are grey. The bright bands of color are faded. It can’t be washed. I fear it will fall apart.
