Dear Grandchildren,
I am writing this letter to tell you about the most unusual day of my life. The day that
changed my life forever and turned my whole world upside down. I got out of bed, took a
shower, shaved, and got dressed. The usual. I left for work, preparing myself for the
announcement that I got the promotion I was bound to receive. As I pulled into space 343 in
the Google Industries parking lot, I whistled as I made my way into the building and up eight
floors on the elevator.
I remember the day as if it were yesterday. Boarding the elevator with me were a man
and a woman I didn’t recognize, although they were clearly together because they were
holding hands. The woman was probably the man’s wife. The couple got off the escalator
on floor 3, where two more women got on; chatting about a new fitness program they were
trying. Another man got on at floor 7, wearing a grey track suit and sneakers. His sneakers
were a puke green colour that completely clashed with his outfit. Where was he going, to
enter himself in a Mismatched Marathon?
As I entered the break room to make my morning coffee, I saw Dave Steele, my boss.
He came up to me and told me to meet him in his office promptly at 9:30. This is it, I kept
telling myself. I was definitely gonna get that promotion.
I got to his office early because I was so excited. 9:27 to be exact. At the time, it
seemed like the only thing I really needed was that promotion. It was more than important to
me.
I crept through the door and Dave began to speak when he saw me. “Ah, Jim, come
sit down,” he said to me as he motioned to one of the empty chairs in front of his desk. The
next thing he told me was a thing that I had not been expecting at all. “You’ve been a
wonderful worker these past 13 years. But . . . I’m going to have to let you go.” His eyes
were dark and cold. “Let me go?” I questioned him. It was such a surprise.
“You know the economy isn’t the greatest right now. It isn’t you, it’s this damn
economy. I know you were expecting a promotion and honestly, you deserve one. You
deserve more than a promotion, you’re a great worker. If there was anything I could do about
it, I would. You know there’s nothing I can do, right?” “Yeah,” I answered in a daze. “I get it. It’s not your fault.” I remember walking out
of that building feeling as if my heart had been ripped out of my body. It’s a terrible feeling
that I hope none of you ever have gone through and never have to go through your whole
lives. As I walked through the halls and down the stairs, it felt like everyone was staring at
me, mocking me. I knew, naturally, that I would have a week or so to clear out my office so I
didn’t bother right then. I focused on getting to my car, still in total shock about what had
happened.
I didn’t want to go home, so I drove to Maud’s bar and ordered a drink—a gin and
tonic—even though it was only 10 in the morning. I stayed at that bar all day, although
throughout the course of the entire day, I only had about 3 drinks. At one point, a scrubby
looking guy in a sweaty white tank top came in and tried to have a conversation with me, but
I ignored him. I wasn’t in the mood for conversation so I just glanced up at the Fox News
broadcast about a shooting in a grocery store somewhere halfway across the country.
Normally something like that would really freak me out but at that moment I didn’t
give a damn about anyone else.
Around 7 o’clock, I happened to look up, and walking through the door was the most
beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life. With her long, silky brown hair flowing down to
the middle of her back, her perfect pink lips, and her captivating electric green eyes, this
woman had caught my attention, and I even had to catch my breath for a moment before I
decided I wanted to talk to her.
I figured she’d never talk to a loser like me, who couldn’t even keep his job, but I
managed to strike up a conversation and, to my surprise, we talked for a while. As cheesy as
it sounds, that’s what happened. We talked about everything we could think of, although we
never ran out of things to talk about. From then on, we went out every weekend and got to
know each other a lot better.
After spending more than three years with this woman, I decided I wanted to be with
her forever. I saved up for months and bought a stunning fourteen karat gold ring. I took her
out to dinner at the fancy La Fromage one Saturday night. I ordered filet mingon and she
ordered lime seared chicken.
Just after we finished the meal, I told her there was an important question to ask her.
Thinking back, it seems like it would have been cheesy and that she would’ve seen it coming.
But it wasn’t and she didn’t. “I can’t live a second without you,” I told her, gazing into her
mystical green eyes. “Will you marry me?” I knew that in this instant, my life would change for the better, even more than it had
on the day I lost my job and met the most perfect woman out there. What I didn’t realise was
that this woman would become my everything, my better half. That I would spend every
possible waking minute with her and we would never grow tired of each other’s presence. I
also didn’t know then that I would hold her hand as she drifted away, where she would spend
her days being watched over by God until I joined her. She’s up there now, and I’m ready to
see her. This is the last letter I’ll write, to share my story with you about the day my life
changed, the reason that I’m not upset about losing my battle to cancer.
The day your grandmother said yes.