She walked into a grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. She wasn't hungry. The pain of losing her husband of 37 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories. Rudy often came with her and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. She knew what he was up to. She'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the 3 yellow roses in his hand. Rudy knew she loved yellow roses. With her heart filled with grief, she only wanted to buy a few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was difficult since Rudy had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two. Standing by the meat, she reached for the perfect small steak and remembered how Rudy loved his steak.
Suddenly a woman came beside her. She was blond, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. She watched as the woman picked up a large pack of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated and then put them back. The woman turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks. The woman saw her watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly at these prices, I don't know." She swallowed the emotion down her throat and met her pale blue eyes.
My husband passed away 8 days ago," She told the woman. Glancing at the package in her hands, she fought to control the tremble in her voice. "Buy him steaks," Rudy's wife said. "And cherish every moment you have together."
The woman shook her head and Rudy's wife saw the emotion in here eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away. Rudy's wife turned and pushed her cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There she stood, trying to decide which size milk she should buy. A quart, she finally decided and moved on to the ice cream section near the fron of the store. If nothing else, she could always fix herself and ice cream cone. She placed the ice cream in her cart and looked down the aisle towards the front. She saw the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards her. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile she had ever seen.
She would swear a soft halo encircled the blond hair as she kept walking towards Rudy's wife, her eyes holding hers. As she came closer, Rudy's wife saw what she held and tears began misting in her eyes. "These are for you," she said and placed 3 beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in her arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Rudy's wife's cheek, then smiled again. She wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, she watched as the green suit walked away as tears clouded her vision. She 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, She wasn't alone. "Oh, Rudy, you haven't forgotten me, have you?" she whispered, with tears in her eyes. He was still with her. and the green suited lady was his angel!
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