Forevermore

My Iphone softly played Reveille as my 4:30 morning alarm. Without opening my eyes, I found the phone in the dark and tapped off the alarm. I gradually worked my way out of the guest bedroom bed where I have been sleeping the past few weeks as my wife continues to battle a sinus problem causing her to snore throughout the night through which I find it hard to sleep. I silently tiptoed past my wife loudly slumbering in the master bedroom bed on my way to the en suite bathroom where I closed the doors before turning on any lights. My eyes rapidly blinked as I adjusted to the abrupt change in the room’s brightness. I reached my hands into the shower stall to turn on the water and noticed that the flow of water was already hot without having to wait the usual couple of minutes for it to warm up. I wondered what might have caused that to occur before just accepting it as a good sign for the day yet to come. As I stepped into the shower, the steaming water felt so good that I just stood under the flowing stream, basking in the cleansing sense with which it baptized my awakening soul. I lost track of time as I just stood there in a mesmerized state with the water pouring over my head and down the sides of body. When I finally stepped out of the shower, I realized I had left my cell phone by the bed and could not check to see how late it was, not realizing how long I stood there enjoying my morning wash. When I looked at my face in the mirror, I did not notice any signs of a stubbled beard on my face and decided that I could skip shaving this morning. I brushed my teeth and swigged a capful of mouthwash not really tasting the toothpaste or feeling the burn of the rinse. I turned out the lights before reopening the bathroom doors; I stood there for a minute or two to allow my eyes to readjust to the darkness. As I slowly felt my way to the bed, where I would kiss my sleeping bride good-bye, I found that the bed was empty. This was odd and I wondered where my wife might be and why was she up so early in her morning? As I went into the guest bedroom to retrieve my Iphone, I found my wife shaking the bed covers and crying. She was pleading, “Wake up, Joe. Joe, wake up. Oh God, please, wake up.” I then noticed that it was not just the bed covers she was shaking. I also realized I was listening to the sounds of Reveille coming from my phone and I stood there, in my pajamas – not the suit and tie I had just put on – watching my wife trying to wake me in the bed. I cried a tear or two; whispered, “Good-bye, Dear” to my wife; and, slowly slid back into my body lying upon the bed and went to sleep forevermore.