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A
Blessed Life
In thirty seconds, Samuel Stone would be dead.
Hurtling from the sky was a piece of loose cement the size of a small car from a
skyscraper and the sheer force of it would impale him into the concrete beneath
him. It would be a miracle of God if
he survived its impact. On this day, there would be no miracles on
At forty years old now, he had been married, divorced, heartbroken,
homeless and bankrupt. Samuel Stone knew the only way that he could’ve
survived a lifetime’s worth of “living life,” as he so fondly referred to
it when he counseled young men at The
Valerie Smalls courted Samuel based on a vision she
had the night before that she would meet an ordinary man to whom she would wed.
She saw a silhouette of a short fat man with a heart encrusted in gold
and everywhere he traveled everyone revered him.
Excitedly, Valerie Smalls woke up before the dream ended believing that
God had sent her a sign of her future husband.
If she had allowed the dream to come to a conclusion, it would have been
revealed to her that the encrusted gold heart was a metaphor for a man with a
heart of gold but, greed ruled her heart. Anxious
to find this rich man who would put her on easy street, Valerie Smalls bolted
from her building and ran into Samuel Stone, literally.
The collision left them both woozy but Valerie took the worst of it.
Samuel’s short, fat body reacted like a force field and repelled her
tiny body a few inches off the ground. She bounced off his stomach, fell to the
ground and slammed her head against the concrete.
When she regained consciousness, the blow to
her head had effectively scrambled her brain and her thoughts felt like marbles
shaking in an empty glass. Valerie
Smalls’ dream from the night before was playing in high-definition on her
mind-screen and, as her head cleared, she mistook the fat man staring into her
eyes with concern for the man in her dreams.
As she laid unconscious on the warm cement, Valerie dreamed dollars while
Samuel fell in love with a sleeping angel. He stroked her long brown hair and
watched as it fell silently between his fingers. Her long eyelashes reminded
Samuel of a butterfly in flight and he watched her, mesmerized. What he
wouldn’t do to have a woman like Valerie Smalls fall for him, an overweight
balding man with no prospects of a relationship but, possessing a heart so
beautiful that if a man was to be judged solely by the content of his heart,
Samuel Stone would be the most sought after man on the planet. But sadly to
most, a man’s looks and bank account are what he’s judged by when it’s
time to play “select a mate.” The same thing can be said about a man in
search of a mate but, this story is about Samuel Stone. So on we go.
For
the next few days, Valerie Smalls was kept at the hospital for observation.
Samuel visited her daily and lavished her with flowers, candy and an assortment
of gifts. Like most men of his generation, Samuel always dressed in a suit and
carried a briefcase and, although it wasn’t his intent, it gave the impression
to casual onlookers that he was a man of means. Through these series of events,
Valerie Smalls also came to believe that Samuel Stone was a man of means. For
the first time in his life, Samuel had the attention of a beautiful woman and he
allowed the euphoria of being the center of Valerie’s attention get the best
of him. Samuel Stone was in love and acted like a teenager discovering the magic
of girls for the first time. In fact, this was truly the case of a grown man
experiencing puppy love and love, simultaneously. Samuel Stone never stood a
chance once he entered the tumultuous waters of love. As a novice, the hurricane
of feelings he was experiencing so overwhelmed him, that all Valerie Smalls had
to do was look at an item with interest and Samuel would immediately get it for
her. The minute Samuel Stone laid
eyes on an unconscious Valerie Smalls- he was a goner.
Soon
after Valerie left the hospital, she allowed Samuel to buy her gifts and send
her flowers. The first time she let him come over to her place for dinner,
Samuel was instructed that he had to leave right after dinner and he wasn’t
allowed to touch her. If he attempted to get fresh with her that would be the
first and last time he would be allowed into her apartment.
Samuel Stone was a perfect gentleman and the thought never entered his
mind about doing anything inappropriate to Valerie.
Valerie Smalls wasn’t a Chef Boyardee or anywhere near close to it but,
to Samuel Stone, it was the best meal he ever had in his life. When you’re
looking into the eyes of a beautiful woman, even the most repulsive of food will
taste good and stimulate your taste buds. In a moment of unusual confidence,
Samuel made his way to Valerie’s chair as she was intent on chewing on the
last remains of her salad, the last piece of lettuce slid between her lips and
disappeared down her throat with nary a sound.
Samuel sweating profusely from the summer heat but more so scared to
death about the rejection he sure would follow after his babbling asking for her
hand in marriage. Valerie looked down upon Samuel and couldn’t imagine having
sex with him or having to see him naked after they were married but, she
reminded herself of her dream and smiled for Samuel as he asked her to be his
wife. Two weeks later Samuel and Valerie were married in a private ceremony that
was attended only by Mother Stone and a witness.
A
week before the wedding, Samuel brought Valerie to meet Mother Stone. Mother
Stone swore that the air in her house suddenly became heavy and complained that
the air was frozen and she couldn’t breathe.
Samuel had no problem breathing the rarefied air that Valerie occupied.
Valerie was a pretty girl and quite a delight to the eyes but, Mother
Stone saw the greed in her eyes and knew she would break her son’s heart into
infinite pieces. A woman like
Valerie Smalls left a man broken and unable to ever find himself again in this
lifetime. Mother Stone looked into
Samuel’s eyes and saw the little boy who tried to please everyone except
himself. He was under the spell of a
woman who didn’t love him and would only be released after she had used him up
completely. Mother Stone knew this
to be true, just as surely as she knew that, every night for the last 30 years,
her dearly departed Henry kept her company as she slept. Believing that Henry
occupied the empty space in her bed had given Mother Stone the necessary
strength to raise Samuel alone and to ignore the advances of countless suitors
through the years. She was an attractive woman in her day and if you looked
closely at her when she smiled, traces of that beautiful woman could still be
seen.
Mother
Stone shuffled off to the kitchen and feigned a need for assistance so that
Samuel could follow her. Valerie knew that she was the topic of conversation and
couldn’t give a shit because she knew there was nothing Mother Stone could do
to stop her from marrying Samuel. A smug smile danced across her face and stayed
there just long enough for Mother Stone to catch a glimpse of it before it faded
back into the darkness of which it was born.
If she wasn’t a practicing Christian woman, Mother Stone would have
hauled ass and administered a beat down to her future daughter-in-law but,
instead, she tried to reason with Samuel.
The
sense of familiarity resonated with Samuel as he stepped into the kitchen. It
hadn’t changed much over his lifetime. The microwave from last Christmas
remained unused on top of the refrigerator. It takes all the fun out of cooking,
Mother Stone would always tell him, and cooking gave her time to think. Using a
microwave barely allowed you to have one thought before your food was cooked.
Mother Stone slowly poured three cups of coffee and tried to figure out
the best way to warn her son again about his fiancée, whose ears were perked
open like a cocker spaniel waiting the mentioning of her name.
Samuel knew this routine by now. This was Mother Stone’s way of
breaking bad news or easing into a conversation that gave her cause to worry. As
a boy, Mother Stone had given Samuel half a cup of coffee, sat him down and told
him that his father had passed away in his sleep. Memories have a way of
flooding the mind, tricking it into believing that an activity from years past
had just taken place. As he stood in
the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand, the night of his father’s death
played in his mind like an old movie whose lines he had memorized through the
years.
“How’s
the coffee? You still drink with three sugars no cream, right?”
“The
coffee is fine, Mother.” They both sat down at the only table that ever lived
in the kitchen.
“You
always know what you will get with a cup of coffee. It’s too bad life can’t
be that simple.”
“Yes,
Mother.”
Samuel
had always been an obedient child and even as an adult, he showed his mother the
deserved respect of a single mother. All that he had been able to accomplish was
owed to the hard work and love of Mother Stone. The least he could do at this
point was allow her to speak her mind, even though his mind was already made up.
He was going to marry Valerie Smalls. When a man truly loves a woman, no force
on earth can change his mind--not even his mother. In between sips of coffee,
Mother Stone recalled how her own mother had warned her against marrying
Samuel’s father. She was sure that he was a good for nothing and would be the
downfall of her daughter. If she had listened to her mother’s advice, Muriel
Stone wouldn’t have been married for 30 wonderful years and Samuel wouldn’t
be here to make her life complete. For better or worse, Mother Stone decided to
do what she had always done and support her son in his dreams.
Surprised by his mother’s change of heart, Samuel felt buoyed that his
marriage to Valerie would be blessed now that he had his mother’s approval.
Six
months after they were married, Samuel came home one day to a note stuck on the
refrigerator that simply read:
Samuel,
I
find this hard to say since you’ve been so good to me. I’ve met someone else
who can love me with the passion that I need in my life. I’m thankful for all
that you’ve done for me, but I don’t love you. Please don’t try to find
me. I will always remember you fondly.
Your
Ex-Wife,
Valerie
Samuel
read the note a thousand times and, every time, it said the same thing.
In the next week, Samuel discovered how much he had really lost when
Valerie left. His bank account had
been raided, all his bills were unpaid and, eventually, he lost his home.
Despondent over losing the best thing in his life, Samuel was a shell of
himself at work and soon he was fired. Ashamed at the turn his life had taken
and knowing that Mother Stone never trusted Valerie, Samuel felt alone and
avoided all of Mother Stone’s phone calls.
Everyday Samuel tried to find the strength to move past the loneliness
and depression that lived within him but, losing Valerie had robbed him of his
will to be strong. A part of him
somehow knew that she didn’t really love him but, he had hoped that just this
once maybe a beautiful woman like Valerie could fall for a fat ordinary slob
like himself. As any man could have probably told him, the chances of that
happening was almost next to impossible. Women like Valerie don’t fall for men
who look like Samuel but, dreamers like Samuel are always looking for their
Valerie.
The
seasons turned and the world around Samuel moved on and he watched it pass him
by. He drifted from house to house and finally ended up at a halfway house.
Being around people who had been dealt worse hands them him in life, made Samuel
ashamed that he was still wallowing in self-pity. He called Mother Stone that
same night and they spoke for hours. She cried for hours just from hearing the
voice of her only son. Samuel promised her that he could come by that Sunday
afternoon for lunch. The next day, as he waited on the corner for the light to
change, a woman waited next to him and reminded him of Valerie. He was making
great strides in putting his life back together but, she was never too far from
his heart. Helping the young men at the center find their path in life had given
Samuel a renewed purpose for his life. It kept the lonely at bay and the sting
of rejection recalled only as he slept alone in bed.
The
young woman walked ahead of Samuel to cross the street and a gust of wind swept
her scarf from around her neck, landing at Samuel’s feet. He bent down to pick
up the yellow and blue satin scarf and a small smile formed on his face. It
smelled just like Valerie. Every happy memory he could recall came flooding back
as he stood on the corner and he was oblivious to the screams around him.
Hurtling from above was a huge piece of concrete, the size of a small car, that
would kill Samuel Stone on impact. His last memory was of a smiling Valerie when
he proposed to her. She was the first and only woman he had ever loved in his
life. He died with a smile on his face and the scent of her perfume enflaming
his heart.
9-24-06
1:03pm
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