Meredith

Meredith

by Indigo Giordana-Altu

The morning light teases Meredith’s eyes until they fluttered open. Slowly, she emerges from beneath the navy blue satin that compliments the paleness of her nudity. She begins her ritual of arching her back and stretching her arms toward the sky like an Olympic Gold Medalist but, in moments like those, she is always forced to remember that youth is no longer on her side. As always, her spine creates a symphony with a series of pops and internal ricochets. She winces as the dull silver hair cascades down her ninety-year-old skin, now wrinkled and spotted yet beautiful in its own right.

Meredith puts on the tattered pink robe that doesn’t match the splendor throughout her lavish home. It was nearly as old as, she with seventy-five years of existence to claim. In that robe, there were stories told, and untold, about true love, honor, obedience, sickness, health and those dreaded words… death doing part. She still remembered, quite clearly, the day that she fell in love with both the robe and the man who gave it to her.

It was 1933, a time when everything was valued and waste was an atrocity. Most people worked in excess for amounts that would hardly feed a mouse. All was about survival. As the oldest sibling of five, Meredith took her duties of assisting her parents rather seriously. She had a head for business and could sweet talk anyone into letting her have the upper hand in a bargaining war. The day that she met Ralph was no exception.

“Mary, we can’t spend more than twenty dollars on this week’s groceries, okay,” her worried mother said firmly.

“Yes Ma’am and, dare I say, you will get ten back in change,” Meredith replied with the haughtiness of a soldier.

Her mother grinned and shook her head. She spit-washed dirt from Meredith’s rosy freckled cheeks and thought that her heart may break at the sight of her little girl being all grown up. With a gentle wave behind her, she watched as Meredith disappeared down the road with a pull along wagon in tow.

She spent a majority of her several mile journey rehearsing her negotiation tactics. Her muttering stifled the sounds that would have forewarned her that she was being followed. In fact, she only became present of mind when she heard an uneducated mouth slur out obscenities regarding the slopes of her teenage body. She quickened her paste in avoidance when feet stampeded toward her. The largest one caught her by the arm and bellowed out, “Where are you going Red?”

The stench of dandelion wine was overwhelming, tainting the air between them. Meredith, however, never had trouble with setting anyone straight. She snatched her arm from his grips and grabbed a large stick she had been toting in the wagon. She held it like a baseball bat as she said, “I suggest you take your ill manners elsewhere you will feel my wrath.” The mean laughed uproariously at the sight of the little redhead wielding the stick, but soon their laughter turned to menace as they swarmed her like bees to a hive.

She landed a few powerful hits, even drawing blood before they overtook her. They were just about to drag her off to do unspeakable things when a car approached. The driver, seeing the struggle, accelerated the car that was nicer than any she had seen before. She could see his eyes as he came close, blaring his horn and yelling at the men. The pain was excruciating when they shoved her to the ground and made a fast getaway.

Meredith’s stranger, who had suddenly become the savior, helped her to a standing position.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

The way he said “Miss” was like butter melting across a hot potato. It was as though her heart climbed into her throat and tried to escape to his hands for an eternity of safekeeping. Her nod was bashful once she realized she had been staring deeply into his verdant eyes. She reached into her pockets just to settle her trembling but then realized that the grocery money was gone. Meredith swirled around, searching in panic, and soon fell to her knees to paw the dirt and grass like a mad woman. She thwarted his attempts to calm her and continued her search until she finally accepted defeat and burst into tears. Eventually, he coaxed her into telling her tale of the family’s financial woes. When she realized all she had said, she covered her mouth and, in her mind, she could hear her father’s stern voice chastise her, “Never show a man your weakness. He might use it against you.”

At that moment, Meredith stopped her whimpering faster than the turn of a faucet handle. She thanked the stranger and started to walk back home. Little did she know that in applying her father’s wisdom, she revealed her biggest weakness of all–pride. He caught up to her and said, “Hold on. Let me help you.” His eyes nearly melted her into a puddle again as he reached into his pocket and held out some money. She thought that he must have a few screws loose despite him being the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on.

“No, thank you,” she said calmly, “My father says that we are not to accept charity under any circumstances.”

“I certainly respect that,” he said. After a light bulb moment pause, he brightened up while asking, “When is your birthday, Miss?”

“What? I don’t understand,” she stammered.

He repeated his question and she hesitantly answered, “The twenty-third of July.”

“Well, that’s only three months away,” he said slyly, “Happy Birthday!”

In one swift movement, he took her hand and placed the money in it. She tried to give it back but he refused and backed away. He did a skip-run back to his car and drove off before she could get a word in edgewise. He honked several times and waved while yelling, “Ciao.” Soon after, there was nothing left but a cloud of dust.

Meredith stood in contemplation, looking at the road to town and the road home. Either way, she felt she had better get moving in case the hooligans were still around. Hearing her own words in her head, saying that she would bring her mother ten dollars in change back, she pressed on toward town.

Throbbing feet and a few blisters were the confirmation of her arrival. Still, she couldn’t resist peeking in a few shop windows that always showcased items that she knew she would never be able to afford in her lifetime. Plus, her little sisters and brothers relied on her to provide detailed descriptions of everything she laid eyes on.  When passing by one window, she stopped in her tracks. There, in pink, her favorite color, was a robe fit for a queen. It was gorgeous with its velveteen accents. She admired it with her face nearly pressed against the window. The sign next to it boasted of the craft work and its European origin. She fantasized about receiving it as a birthday present but snapped herself back into reality because the ten dollar price tag was twenty-five percent of her dad’s weekly pay.  She sighed and turned around, running smack dab into the stranger from the road.

“Do you like that?” he asked nonchalantly.

She stuttered in a loss for words. Meredith demanded to know if he had been following her. He confessed to having done so for longer than she thought because he wanted to make sure she was safe. He broke her interrogation with a simple introduction, “I’m Ralph, by the way. Ralph Buchanan.” He escorted her throughout her shopping and she could feel herself being merciless struck by Cupid. She learned that he was from a well-off family. If it wasn’t for the proof of his assets, she wouldn’t have believed it since everyone else was struggling so badly.  Of all things, they were thriving in the grocery industry. However, by the tail-end of the conversation, the mood changed and her eyes stung at his mention that he had stopped there to buy his fiancée a gift to present on his return home from traveling. The sting gave way to anger when he asked Meredith to help him pick something for her.

She narrowed her eyes, explained how busy she is and her time constraints. She negotiated him into not only paying her for the service of helping but also driving her home. The time shared beyond that was rather cold by her own doing, but she held her end of the bargain and so did he. When Ralph dropped her at home, she offered him a snappier good-bye than he expected. He was very confused but shrugged it off to her being a hormonal teen.

Some months passed and it was Meredith’s birthday. There was a UPS delivery at her door. No one in her family had ever seen such a delivery in real life. They gathered around as the box was presented to her.

They announced it as a delivery from Ralph Buchanan to Meredith Langley. Her parents exchanged confused glances. Before she could even open it, her father battered her with questions. Once he was certain she had no idea what it was about, he allowed her to open it. Meredith’s eyes lit up. It was the pink robe from the store window. This only led to more enraged accusations from her father until her mother placed her hand on his shoulder to get his attention for an enclosed note.

Her mother cleared her throat while reading:

Dear Meredith,

Thank you for all your help with choosing the gift for my fiancée. She loved the jewelry box and felt it was as though I read her mind. You really have a knack for such things. I remembered your mention of your birthday. I thought you would enjoy having this since you admired it so much. Also, don’t forget to check the pockets.

Sincerely,

Mr. Buchanan

Meredith stared at the robe. Her father did not hesitate to grab the envelope that held a check worth five years of salary and a shorter note that said, “This is an investment in your family’s future is not to be considered charity. Simply do the same for someone else along the way.”

She and her family thought they were seeing things. Though Meredith still felt the enigma of her first puppy love, she accepted that this was an older man who had a life of his own. She had no real right to be angry at someone who only showed her a random act of kindness in the bleak world.

Giving thought to what Ralph had said, Meredith’s father sent her to college. She flourished as they thought she would and eventually opened a personal shopping business, inspired by her day with Ralph. Her business boomed more quickly than she thought as she found herself working for several famed individuals of the time. She afforded all of her siblings to go to school as a result and made sure her parent’s needs were met.

It was about ten years later that she unexpectedly heard from Ralph again. One day, he showed up at her business with flowers in hand and an invite to catch up over dinner. It was during that dinner that she heard the tragic story of his wife’s battle with influenza. Meredith cried for the sorrow of it all and Ralph broke down for having relived it in the telling. They comforted each other and it became the start of a deep friendship that later ignited love in Ralph and a rekindling of the feelings that Meredith once had for him.

As with most fairy tales, they had a wedding much like royalty and enjoyed life with the four children that Meredith bore. She was an independent woman with a thriving business and he had taken over his family’s supermarket chain. Of course, they had rough patches like any longstanding marriage would, but the love conquered all and gave them great happiness until the day they discovered Ralph’s cancer.

Slowly but surely, Meredith watches her true love fade away and there she was with nothing left of him. Well, nothing that mattered to her except that robe.

So, on this day that she went through her normal routine in her aching body that somehow lasted far longer than she ever expected. She goes into her kitchen to make breakfast. The breakfast was one that she and Ralph always enjoyed together–waffles, Canadian bacon, eggs, and orange juice topped with a sprig of mint. This was something she did once a month in honor of his memory.

Usually, when she made their favorite meal, she only makes it for herself. This became the only break in her routine as she proceeded to set a meal for two. To any onlookers, they would swear that Meredith was trapped in a state of dementia. She sits, eating and laughing while talking to no one that anyone could see. It is of no matter because she could see. Right in front of her is Ralph. It had been so long since she has seen him and she is glad to have him back.

She tells him how much she has missed him and he does the same. Meredith reaches for his hand and slumps over in peace, never to wake in this life again.