Sunday, February 03, 2008 9:04 PM
As he crossed the parking lot, he thought about both his daughters, his job, his wife. At the mment, none of them gave him much comfort. He felt as though he were failing in practically every area of his life. Lately, happiness seemed as distant and natainable to his as space travel. He hadn't always felt this way. There had been a long period of time which he remembered being very happy. But things change. People change. Change was one of the inevitable laws of nature, exacting its toll on people's lives. Mistakes are made, regrets form, and all that was left were repercussions that made something as simple as rising from the bed seem almost laborious.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Today, though, Kenneth was just so...bitter, and when I asked about Eleanor, I got the sense that he wished she were dead. And when I compare that to the way he used to feel about his wife, and what's happened to his kids...it's terrible."
When her voice died away, Travis squeezed her hand. "That's not going to happen to us..."
"That's not the point. Th point is, I can't live knowing that I didn't do what I should have done."
"What are you talking about?"
She ran her thumb over his hand. "I love you so much Travis. You're the best husband, the best person, that I've ever known. And I want you to make me a promise."
"Anything."
She looked directly at him. "I want you to promise that if anything ever does happen to me, you'll let me die."
"We already have living wills," he countered. "We did those when we did our regular wills and power of attorney."
"I know," she said. "But our lawyer retired to Florida, and as far as I know, no one but the three of us knows that I don't want my life prolonged in the event I can't make my own decisions. It wouldn't eb fair to you or the kids to put your life on hold, because in time, resentment would be inevitable. You would suffer and the kids would suffer. Seeing Kenneth today convinced me of that, but I don't want you to ever be bitter about anything we chared. I love all of you too much for that. Death is always sad, but it's also inevitable, and that's why I signed the living will in the first place. Because I love all of you so much."
