Rudy's Angel

I walked into the
grocery store not particularly
interested in buying groceries.
I wasn't hungry. The pain
of losing my husband
of 37 years was still too raw.
And this grocery store held
so many sweet memories.

Rudy often came with me
and almost every time he'd
pretend to go off and look
for something special. I
knew what he was up to.
I'd always spot him
walking down the aisle with the
three yellow roses in his
hands. Rudy knew I
loved yellow roses.

With a heart filled with
grief, I only wanted to buy
my few items and leave,
but even grocery shopping
was different since Rudy
had passed on. Shopping for
one took time, a little
more thought than it had
for two. Standing by the
meat, I searched for
the perfect small steak and
remembered how Rudy had loved
his steak.

Suddenly a woman came
beside me. She was blonde,
slim and lovely in a soft
green pantsuit. I watched as
she picked up a large pack
of T-bones, dropped them
in her basket, hesitated,
and then put them back.
She turned to go and
once again reached for the
pack of steaks. She
saw me watching her and
she smiled. "My husband
loves T-bones, but honestly,
at these prices, I
don't know."

I swallowed the emotion
down my throat and met
her pale blue eyes. "My
husband passed away eight
days ago" I told her.
Glancing at the package in
her hands, I fought to
control the tremble in my
voice. "Buy him the
steaks. And cherish every
moment you have together."
She shook her head and I saw
the emotion in her eyes as
she placed the package in
her basket and wheeled away.

I turned and pushed my cart
across the length of the store
to the dairy products.
There I stood, trying to
decide which size milk I
should buy. A quart, I
finally decided and moved on
to the ice cream section
near the front of the
store. If nothing else, I could
always fix myself an ice
cream cone. I placed the ice
cream in my cart and looked down
the aisle toward the front.

I saw first the green
suit, then recognized the pretty
lady coming towards me.
In her arms she carried a
package. On her face was
the brightest smile I had
ever seen. I would swear a soft halo
encircled her blonde hair as she
kept walking toward me, her
eyes holding mine. As she
came closer, I saw what
she held and tears began
misting in my eyes.

"These are for you," she
said and placed three
beautiful long stemmed yellow
roses in my arms. "When
you go through the line, they
will know these are paid
for." She leaned over and placed
a gentle kiss on my cheek,
then smiled again.

I wanted to tell her
what she'd done, what the
roses meant, but still unable
to speak, I watched as
she walked away as tears
clouded my vision.

I looked down at the
beautiful roses nestled in
the green tissue wrapping and
found it almost unreal. How
did she know? Suddenly
the answer seemed so clear.
I wasn't alone. "Oh,
Rudy, you haven't forgotten
me, have you?" I whispered, with
tears in my eyes. He was
still with me, and
she was his angel.

Author unknown

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