Wasn't Meant to Be
A short story by SCTC student Jeremy Cato
It was a cool morning on this fourth day of the tenth month. The wind was cold and seemed to cut through me like a knife going through soft butter. The sun was just starting its rise from the horizon. It would take just enough time for it to reach the point that was needed to start the day. After all, one just doesn’t get in a hurry on days like this. As a matter of fact none of us really wanted to be out on a day like this. We arrived on the job well past our set schedule. I didn’t think this would be a problem, for the fact that we needed the sun’s light as its warmth. The house seemed to be never ending. It wasn’t a spiffy looking home but large enough to be considered a house for middle to upper class.
As my crew and I unloaded the material that was needed for our project at hand, I walked around the job site, looking at the places we needed to repair. The house was in bad shape to only have been around for twelve years. As I was looking at a particular part of the top portion of the house I hear her soft and pleasant voice. “Good morning,” she said. I began to look around to see where this amazing voice was coming from. It didn’t take too long before my eyes met hers.
As I looked upon her, the beauty she possessed was mesmerizing. My breath left me quickly. Her hair was golden blonde. Her eyes blue like the ocean. A figure of a goddess. Even in this weather she was protected from the cold by her looks. The curves of her body warmed me from the inside out. She introduced herself. Her name was Karen. I introduced myself as Ned the contractor and began telling her what my crew and I were going to accomplish by the end of the day. As we talked I could feel the vibes we both were sending to each other. I asked her if she would like to have dinner with me and to my surprise she accepted.
I picked her up at around 7.30 and took her to my favorite place to dine. We talked the whole way through dinner. It was as if there wasn’t enough time in the world to talk about simply nothing. Afterwards we took a walk in the park. I dropped her off and went home. We went out several times after this. I was beginning to fall for this lovely woman. I had to tell her. The two of us went on a picnic in the park one Sunday afternoon. After a few hours of talking and laughing I just looked at her and spoke my feelings. She said nothing. The look upon her face was a state of shock or so I thought. With a smile she told me she felt the same. A warm and happy feeling came over me, so I asked her hand in marriage. She said yes and a date was set. Karen and I would sit for hours talking about how we would decorate the church and where we could go for our honeymoon. It seemed like nothing fit our taste. As the planning went on simple was the way to go. Fancy décor just couldn’t amount to the two of us being together forever.
The day of the wedding I was extremely nervous. The church was decorated in white roses. The ceremony got under way. I stood at the altar awaiting my beautiful bride. Several minutes passed as the bride’s music filled the church. Why isn’t she coming down the aisle? I looked around at everyone hoping for a hint of her tardiness but there was no answer. A few minutes later a young man burst into the church with news of an accident. A sick feeling entered my very soul. I dashed from the church and headed towards the wreck. I saw my beloved’s car on its side. I burst from my truck like a caged animal. I headed for my loves car only to see her lifeless corpse being covered by the paramedics. I fell to my knees in astonishment. Were my eyes playing a trick on me? No, what I saw was real. I burst into tears. That warm and loving feeling I had felt all this time left me. It felt like my soul had been snatched from my body. Emptiness filled me like milk does a crystal glass. How could it be? What would I do without her? It finally hit me; I had lost my love on the happiest day of the rest of our lives together.
