One last dance
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TODAY HE WAS Tommy. He'd done his research, dug out his uniform and bought his flowers. He was to call on her at midday and ask her to dance as they had sixty years earlier. And for that one afternoon, it wouldn't matter that he was dead.
He stood by the door, using his reflection in the plate glass next to it to make his final checks. The bouquet smelled of perfume, made from the scent of the dozen varieties of flowers he'd picked out especially. Carnations for their first date. Roses for their many valentines. Gerbera for her birthdays. The others, he just knew she loved. With a final adjustment to his cap, he knocked on the door and waited.
It was several minutes before she answered. Once upon a time, she might have been dashing to and fro, fixing her hair or smoothing her skirts before he saw her. When she opened the door, she would be a vision of nervous beauty with her heart fluttering beneath the silk of her finest blouse. He knew that wouldn't happen today, but if she smiled, his efforts had been worth it.
At length, the door swung open, and there she was. No doubt the years had changed her, but the hints of what she had been still lingered. The blue-grey sparkle had not left her eyes, and while they were surrounded now by lines like shattered glass, the light still danced within them. Her once sculpted features had softened since they had met, but her smile was no less contagious for it. If his plan worked, he'd catch it today.
'Tommy?' she gasped, to his relief, before her surprise turned to joy.
In the moments that followed, her years fell away like the fragments of a shell. She smiled away the cobweb of lines that had for so long restrained it. Her cheeks rose, the creases upon them disappearing and the rouge returning in their place.
He held out his hand and she grasped it with hers. Her strength had lessened of late, but he could feel her intent and that was enough. Clasping her fingers, he raised her hand to his lips and pressed the softest of kisses upon it.
'How do I look?' he asked, straightening and presenting himself for inspection.
She looked him up and down, her excited eyes taking in the cut of his jacket and the pleats of his trousers. She took her time, inspecting every detail, and lingering on the medals pinned to his breast. He calmed his breathing, hoping his nerves wouldn't betray the deceit. He stilled his trembling hands at his sides and waited, hoping that he had done enough to convince her he was really there.
'You're every bit as handsome as I remember,' she said, at last.
At that, she stood aside and welcomed him into the room. It wasn't a large space, but had everything she needed, and all within easy reach. The home she and Tommy had once shared was a palace by comparison, but it had grown too big for her in recent years, and her, in turn, too small for it.
'Sit with me,' she said, taking the flowers he offered and gesturing to one of the room's two armchairs. 'It feels like so long since we last talked.'
'It has been,' he replied, 'and we will talk, of course. But first, I hoped you might dance with me again while you still have the energy.'
She beamed at this, her smile becoming as broad as her face and banishing still more years. She almost shook with excitement.
'Yes, Tommy. Of course.'
He moved to the stereo then, looking through the small collection of discs next to it for the one he wanted. As he neared the bottom of the pile, his nerves spiked again. He masked his relief when it turned out to be the last one.
A minute later, the music started. She waited for him in the middle of the room, still smiling as she had when he arrived. He stood in front of her, trying to remember what to do. As soon as he raised his hands, she stepped into place. He held on gently, counting the beats and hoping she wouldn't notice.
On the next bar, they took their first step. Through luck or judgement, both were in time. They took another, and another. Despite her frailty, she danced as if she'd been doing this every day of her long life. For most of it, he knew, she had, though it had been many years since the last time. The steps were not all as he had rehearsed, but her slowness gave him time to adjust and pretend he knew what he was doing. He worried that his fumbles might give away his ruse, but instead she laughed and chided him playfully for his lack of practice.
As the song finished, she clasped both of his hands in hers and gazed up at him. When he looked back at her, her eyes brimmed with tears, and in that moment, he feared he'd been undone. Then she smiled again.
'Thank you, Tommy,' she said. 'I have missed you.'
HE CLOSED THE DOOR behind him as he left, pulling it to softly so as not to wake her. The cap was already under his arm. The medals had found their way into his pocket. Once the tie came off, he could step outside and almost pass for normal again.
'How was she?' asked the nurse, arriving at his side as he turned.
'Good,' he replied. 'I haven't seen her happy like that for a while. It was nice.'
The nurse smiled at him and nodded.
'It was a good thing you did, Rob,' she said. 'You look just like he did in her pictures.'
Robert smiled, turning his grandfather's cap over and over between his fingers, and fighting down the lump in his throat.
'It seemed kinder than telling her again that he's gone.'