The Beginning of Fall
"Home." It was all he could think about the last two weeks. It had been a long business trip in Paris and he did manage to make the sale, but it was the thought of home, and the thought of Karen that kept him going. "90 Marker Avenue, please."
"Sure thing," the cab driver replied. "Nice looking flowers." He turned on his meter and drove north from the airport.
"Thanks," Aaron replied. "I got them in Paris." He held them slightly above his lap. The bouquet smelled wonderful. They were Karen's favorite. Blue iris and long stemmed red roses. "They're for my wife."
The cab driver nodded and drove quietly. Aaron looked out the window at the road and the trees passing by. The leaves on all the trees were starting to dry out and fall making it a beautiful fall evening. He smiled. It was a day like this exactly six years ago that he asked Karen to marry him. They were wed the next summer. Remembering her eyes as he asked her made him tear up, just as hers had. Tears ran down her face as she smiled as wide as he ever saw. Her smile could always light up his soul.
"This is it. That's fifteen fifty." The cab driver hit his meter and jotted down some quick notes on the pad in the seat next to him.
Aaron hadn't realized how much time had passed as he looked out at his house. He handed the man a twenty dollar bill. "Thanks," he said with a smile as he collected his things and exited the yellow vehicle. It drove off with a sputter. Aaron stood there in his cracked driveway with his luggage and flowers. He felt his heart jump slightly at the sight of their home. The paint was cracked and the lawn needed attention, but it was theirs. They got the house together just after the wedding. It was a bit more than he could afford with all the bills he had, but Karen always loved their house. It was theirs.
"I'm home," he said as he closed the door behind him. There was no reply, but he expected that. She was in the garden, where she always loved to spend her time. He sat his luggage next to the table beside the couch. He picked up the picture frame sitting atop it and smiled. It was their wedding photo. They made sure to choose a spot for it so that it would be the first picture anyone saw when they entered. Aaron wore a tuxedo that Karen jokingly said made him look like a penguin's butler. And she wore a beautiful white dress as she held her blue and red bouquet. But the most wonderful thing she wore was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. Her smile.
He sat the picture down gently in the same spot it had been the last five years. He remembered the flowers he was holding, tied together with a green bow. Her favorite color, the same as her emerald eyes. "I got you something sweetheart." He smiled, picturing her face lighting up at the sight of the flowers. "They're your favorite, I got them while I was in Paris," he said as he slipped out of his jacket and placed it on the coat rack. "You remember that one shop I got flowers from before I proposed?" He placed his tie over his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt a bit. "I stopped there just before heading to the airport and picked up your favorite bouquet." He set them gently next to the picture.
He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it from one of his bottles of scotch. He drank it slowly as he looked out the window into the back yard. It was her garden. She spent so much time on that garden, making it beautiful and lush. But still it didn't even compare to how beautiful she was where it was most important. Her inner beauty. Not everything she grew in her garden was just for them. She grew and made bouquets to donate to the hospital. Giving them to sick children and those without families always helped cheer her up after she spent time there when she got sick. Knowing the pain they went through and being able to make them feel happy and alive made her feel whole. And brought out her smile.
He looked down at his empty glass. He let out a small sigh before refilling it. He sipped from it as he grabbed the floral arrangement and walked out the back door.
Looking around he noticed the leaves on the large tree in the middle of the yard were starting to turn brown and fall gently from the branches. They were falling into flowerbeds beneath the tree where they joined with blossoms that were wilting and beginning to become overrun with weeds. They weren't as lush and as colorful as they were when she had first planted them, but Aaron had been doing his best to help maintain her proudest accomplishment. He finished his scotch and sat his glass on the patio table.
He looked next to those flowerbeds and smiled. "There you are. I always know I can find you here." He held up the flowers in his hand and grinned proudly. "I got these just for you. The same bouquet I used when I proposed from the very same shop in Paris." He smiled gently. "These had you just as speechless when I proposed to you. Remember that?" He laughed softly and shook his head. "You just kept mouthing the word 'yes' over and over, even though you couldn't get any sound out." His smile faded for a moment. "I wish you could have gone with me. I had plans to propose to you again. Just like I did before."
Aaron looked up at the clouded sky. He squinted as his vision blurred. Shaking his head he walked towards the middle of the yard, stumbling slightly. "You don't need to say anything sweetie. Just being home with you is everything I ever need. That's all I've ever needed." He knelt down and whispered, "I love you so much Karen. And I always will," as he set the flowers beside her stone.