The Eyes and Ears of Love (3 page)

A man that makes me feel warm inside. Have you ever felt that before?

He shakes his head.

Me neither, I’ve only heard about it in books and movies. But it’s a feeling that people spend their entire lives wanting or waiting for. Most of the people will experience it in their lives.
She looks down.
Unless you have terminal cancer.
She pauses and wipes the tear falling from her cheek.
But our date would be on a night with a full moon so that when everyone else is acting crazy and doing awful things in the world like they say on the news, we will balance it out with our love.

Bentley smiles softly.
Anything else?

Her face lights up.
Christmas lights! I love Christmas, so a first date in December would be perfect!

That sounds like a perfect first date. And I hope you read my lips when I tell you that you are going to go on that first date. But for now, the only date you’re going on is in your dreams!

She smiles and gets under her comforter. He helps to put her oxygen mask over her mouth and makes sure her IV and morphine infusion pump is securely inserted into her skin. He then tucks her in and he watches her eyes close. He rubs her head to help soothe her to sleep.

“I promise that you will get to go on your first date, Emily” he says aloud before shutting off her light and leaving.

Over the next two weeks, Bentley watches Emily grow sicker. She used to only be in pain for a few hours a day and now she is in pain constantly, so Mrs. Menichelli increases her morphine which only makes her nauseous. It becomes a sickness itself, watching an innocent child suffer through that much pain.

It’s been sixteen days and the day that Bentley has waited for has finally come.

The doorbell rings bright and early. It’s the giant crate he has made arrangements to receive. Inside the crate is a gigantic Jacuzzi that he has rented for only a day. The Jacuzzi will take an entire day alone, just to heat to the maximum temperature of 110 degrees.

He spends several minutes using all his strength and power to pull the trampoline in the backyard over the Jacuzzi. The steam of the water from the Jacuzzi oozes between the screen of the trampoline. Bentley uses his dad’s plastic drop cloth to keep the moisture from seeping through. To make the trampoline more comfortable, Bentley throws the fluffy goose feather blanket his grandma had made years ago over the plastic drop cloth. He tests it out, he climbs onto the trampoline and sits in the center, and he feels the heat of the water steaming through. Bentley then destroys his father’s shed in search of the Christmas lights. He places the lights all over the backyard, in his mother’s garden, along the fence, around the trampoline, and throughout the balcony.

He drives to pick up and put on the tuxedo he rented and scurries to the barber shop before closing. His golden-brown hair is curly and shaggy from the months that passed since his last haircut. When he allows his hair to grow out, it looks like a perm from the 1980s.

“Bentley Boy!” The owner of the barber shop, Gil, shouts. “What can I do for you, son?”

“I need to be cleaned up, Gil,” he says, sitting in the barber chair.

“Well, that’s for damn sure!” He chuckles. He cuts locks of Bentley’s hair until the pile of hair on the floor begins to look like a small dog. “You got a date tonight?”

“Yes,” Bentley answers with a subtle grin.

“Well, she must be special because you haven’t been in this shop for months.”

“She is.” He nods. “Very special.”

“Your Pops was telling me Emily’s home.”

“Yeah, right where she should be.”

Gil pats him on the back. “That’s good to hear Bentley.” He pauses. “How is she doing?”

“We take it day by day.”

Gil nods with understanding and stops chatting when he puts away his scissors and uses his electrical razor. The razor is loud and obnoxious. The buzzing vibrates Bentley’s entire head and sends ringing through his ears.

“All done! Now how about a good ole fashion straight razor shave?” Gil asks.

Bentley admires his fresh cut and eventually shakes his head. “My date likes a little hair on a man’s face. So, what’s the damage?” Bentley reaches for his wallet.

“It’s on the house,” Gil says.

“I insist.”

Gil pushes Bentley’s wallet away. “It was just really nice seeing you and you paid with good company.”

Bentley gives him a hug while sliding a twenty-dollar bill into Gil’s jacket pocket.

His final stop is at Shag’s Burger Shack. They sell the best burgers and milkshakes in town. He orders through the drive through because he doesn’t have enough time to wait in the dinner rush line. He orders directly at the drive thru window as the speaker box is out of order. He reaches for his wallet in the passenger’s seat and when he looks to order, Shelby is standing in front of him. She’s wearing a Shag’s Burger Shack employee shirt with a ketchup stain right above her belly button.

“Bentley.”

“Shelby. Hi, how are you?” he says awkwardly.

“Good. Yeah, I’m good.”

“I didn’t know you worked here?”

“Yeah, well there are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

Bentley fidgets with his hands. “You know someone once told me that real men don’t hurt women. I’m sorry I treated you so badly, you didn’t deserve that from me and you don’t deserve that from anyone.”

“We didn’t have sex that night. You know, if that’s the reason you were so eager to kick me out.”

“We didn’t?”

“No,” she says looking down at her shirt. “I drove you home because you had too much to drink,” she continues, scratching off the ketchup stain.

“Why did you stay then?”

“Because you asked me to.”

Bentley stares at her, observing the sensitivity in her gentle eyes. It’s something he never saw before when he looked at her.

“Are you on a date?” She smiles softly.

“Yes, I guess I am, actually,” he acknowledges.

“She, she’s really lucky,” she says starring at Bentley with one arched eyebrow. She jerks her body towards the cash register, “so, what can I get you?”

“Two chocolate milkshakes.”

Bentley pays then rushes home to see the outcome of the dinner his mom has agreed to make while he ran errands.   

Mrs. Menichelli opens the oven sending a wave of heat against her and Bentley’s body. Bentley sets the milkshakes on the table and creeps behind her to take a peek inside.

“Mom, you need to flip them or they’ll burn!” he shrieks.

She slowly closes the oven door. “Honey, I think I can handle baking frozen chicken nuggets,” she turns around. “Oh Bentley, you look so handsome!”

“I know, but she likes them with only a mild crisp, not overcooked, with the perfect amount of juiciness.”

She puts her hand on his cheek and rubs gently. “I know. Take a breath.”

“It has to be perfect, mom.”

“And it will be, even if the chicken’s overcooked!”

He frowns. She leaves the kitchen and he opens the oven to check them once more. He glances at the Styrofoam cups evaporating on the table. He immediately puts both milkshakes in the freezer.

After twenty minutes, the chicken nuggets are mildly crispy, not overcooked, with the perfect amount of juiciness. The night sky is out. He puts everything in its place for the special night ahead. The last thing he must do is speak to his father.

Mr. Menichelli sits in the family room slumped back on the couch watching ESPN. Bentley blocks his view of the television and stares at him.

“Yes, son?” he asks.

“I would like to ask your permission to take your daughter on a date?”

Mr. Menichelli scratches his head. “Is this a joke?”

“No.”

“Well, why are you asking?”

“You told Emily she couldn’t date until she was eighteen so I am asking your permission to take her on a date seven years early.”

Mr. Menichelli looks at Bentley for several seconds. He sits up straight, playing along. He vocalizes a deep grunt. “Well, when are you going to have her home by?”

“No later than ten, sir.”

“I guess. But no rated PG-13 movies and she can only have one can of pop.”

“Thank you!”

He runs upstairs to get Emily up and out of bed. He gently sweeps her cheek with his fingers to wake her up. She opens her eyes and arches what would be her eyebrows if she had hair.

Bentley, is that you?

He does a spin for her.
Not too bad, huh?

You look great! Do you have plans?

He nods.
And so do you!

She uses all the muscles in her arms to push herself up.
Really? I’m not dressed to have plans.
She looks down at her butterfly pajamas.

Yes, you look beautiful.
He wraps a blanket around her and holds out his hand to escort her.

Where are we going?

You’ll see.

He leads her downstairs and into the backyard. Her eyes glisten when she looks at the ray of colors that fill the entire yard—crystal, red, and green. The Christmas lights that she loves so much are hanging from every corner of the yard. Scarlet flows to her cheeks and the tears sparkle in her eyes. The trampoline centers right below this month’s full moon, the full moon Bentley had to wait sixteen days for. Rose petals flutter around the grass. He lifts her on the trampoline where a tray of fresh chicken nuggets and two frozen chocolate milkshakes sit. The heat from the Jacuzzi is immediate and seems to warm her. A teardrop slides down her face.

You did all this for me?

I’m not afraid of you missing your first date because I know you are going to win against cancer, but I’m scared that your first date won’t be with someone like me.
He wipes the tear from her face.

A playful grin spreads on her face.
But, Dad says I can’t go on dates until I turn eighteen.

Well, you have quite the sweet talker for a date.

Why is there a Jacuzzi under the trampoline?

Because I wanted you to feel warm inside. It’s the one feeling that people spend their entire life waiting for.

She scrunches her face, seeming to fight off her emotions.
Why me, Bentley?

Who else would I do all of this for?

No. I mean,
her eyelids drop and the corners of her lips slowly pull down as her chin quivers.
Why me?

The chill of this question sends a shiver down his spine. The one question she has yet to ask anyone, and she chooses to ask him.

I have the best life. The best brother. The best parents. Why me?

Bentley shakes his head.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

No, there’s a reason. God has an explanation for everything he does. He chose me specifically for a reason.

Bentley takes a minute to gather his thoughts.
You want to know what I think.

She nods anxiously.

I believe that God made you special.

She looks disappointed with the typical response she receives.

He lifts her chin.
I’m not done. I think that God made you special; he made you unlike anyone else in this world. You’re eleven years old and you’ve managed to figure out life better than an adult in their fifties. You have found happiness earlier then the millions of people in this world. And God is giving you an ultimatum, that if you are taken from this world right here, right now, it’s because you accomplished everything the average person achieves throughout their entire life. And if you are to fight cancer and survive, God will have enlisted you as his servant to go out and affect the lives of others with your kind and humble spirit.

Regardless of how Bentley feels about God, he sees that it’s more crucial for Emily to be able to believe in something right now. It gives her hope and guidance to move and fight forward.

They spend the next two hours laughing, eating chicken nuggets, and drinking chocolate milkshakes while watching the view of Christmas and a full moon. The Jacuzzi keeps both of them toasty warm from the chilly breeze.

Bentley makes sure that they both have their feet in the door at ten. He walks her back to her room and doesn’t leave without tucking her in and giving her a good night kiss on the cheek. A soft smile lingers on her face as she drifts into sleep.

The sun has come up and Bentley is sitting on the edge of his bed. His mind is churning; he is neither sad nor angry, but numb. Directly outside of his window is a choir of chirping and singing birds resembling a scene from Cinderella. He listens to the birds and the soft whistling of the wind rustling against the trees. He thinks the sound of nature appears to be more aroused and engaged today than any other day that he can remember. Or maybe Bentley has been much more distant to the outside world than he thought.

Emily died four days ago. She died the night of her first date, the night of the full moon. It makes sense to Bentley. Awful things happen when there’s a full moon out. She died one hour after Bentley tucked her in. Mrs. Menichelli went to check on her and she was cold and lifeless, but yet she still managed to hold onto the lingering smile of Bentley’s good night kiss.