THE WATCH...by b. Malin
The Gift...A SHORT STORY
She found the watch once again after the split of her marriage. It lay in it's original box in what she lovingly referred to as her Jewelry Drawer. She sat down on the bed, took a deep breath, and slowly removed it from the box, and gently started to wind it. The watch seemed to spring to life. As she studied it, her mind wondered back twenty-five years...She was then eighteen and graduating High School...
Her father had presented it to her, gift wrapped, with a small card, that read, Happy Graduation, may you always use your "time" wisely, Love, Dad. She had laughed when she read it, and was surprised to see tears in his eyes as he watched her put it on. He was not an easy man to live with...and it would take a few more years for them to become close. She was always grateful for that time, because he would die, much too soon.
She wore the watch when he walked her down the isle. She wore the watch for her first big job promotion...When she gave birth to her sons...and sadly at his funeral. Then it got put into her Jewelry Drawer. She always had one, no matter where she moved with her husband and sons...she always made sure she had a Jewelry Drawer.
The watch got taken out of its box for special occasions like, Anniversaries, Weddings, Holidays...It always made her feel like her father was near, at least in spirit...It was too fancy for everyday use...
She wore it when she started to date again...after the divorce. It became her security blanket, or in this case, her security watch. She marveled how well it kept time, never missing a beat...always so accurate. She never thought she would, but she became involved with a man, a kind, gentle man...She found herself trusting once more. Cautiously at first...Three years were to pass, before she said "yes" to his proposal.
Once again she wore the watch when her sons walked her down the isle to become a bride for the second time. She wore the watch when each son married, and again when she became a grandmother...
The older she got, she found that she wanted to wear the watch more often...It made her feel closer to her father. She wondered what he would have thought of the woman she had become over the years...Would he think that she had used her "time" wisely?
