AND SHE PLAYS ON....

She still plays for him, almost every night...he tells me.

After supper, around dusk, the dishes washed and put away, he sits in his easy chair and waits....

She heads over to the organ just like she has done every evening for the past 60 years, flips up the levers, softly embraces the keys, and beautiful music fills the air.


They met on a blind date-- his buddy set them up.  She was the kid sister, but right from the start, he knew she was the one.

I see a picture of them on the antique desk--shoulder length wavy reddish hair, clear eyes, peach colored cheeks...she is absolutely beautiful.  And there he is right beside her--soft curly blond hair, so handsome in his sailor's uniform...even then a twinkle in his eye.

He shows me the organ--cathedral style, the best you can find, he says. Surprised her with it one Christmas eve early on in their marriage.  The keys are yellowed and dusty, but yet there is something about it...like it still brings a presence of something grand into the room.

"She plays our favorite song and sometimes we even sing along."  His eyes seem far away and he smiles at something only he can see.

*

His son will be here soon, coming from out of town--to pack up some of her old things, sort through, help him move on.




My task completed, I gather up my gear and say goodbye...

Maybe next time...

Not today...

Not now...

Maybe tomorrow... 

I will remind him again that she has been gone for almost a year

For now let him remember

hold on to her

hear her music

and so

 she plays on....

*Mrs. Meigs at the Organ, William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)