Victor Deathbed

Victor laid on the bed, his old age finally catching up with him. Eliza sat next to him holding his hand, crying. She had aged into a woman well, and the resemblance to her mother was easy to see. While she was crying, a smile spread across his face, wrinkling it further. “Dad, why are you smiling?” She choked out between sobs. He patted her hand. “Sweetheart, I love you more than anything else on this earth, and I am so happy that I got to see you turn into the woman you are today, give you away at your wedding, meet my grandchildren, spend time with you. I wouldn’t trade away those moments for anything. But despite all that, I’ve been lonely for so long. You don’t know what it’s like to lose the person you fell in love with at the drop of a hat like that and I hope you never do. It’s the most awful feeling in the world, and if I didn’t have you, I probably wouldn’t have made it through that. I can admit to you now that nearly every day I got the chance to while you were a kid, I would go to your mother’s grave while you were at school. I would sit there and talk to her for hours until I needed to go do something else. I never got over her death you know. And now, after living a full life, I’m going to get to see her again, how could I not smile? I can be with the woman I love forever.” She squeezed his hand. “But, I need you here. What if I can’t make it through this?” He reached up with a shaky hand and cupped her cheek. “Eliza, you are such a strong woman and you have so many people who love and care about you, you’ll be fine. I’ll still be with you, never doubt that. When you were born, I gave you a piece of myself that will always be there no matter where I am.” He pulled himself into a sitting position and kissed her on the cheek before lowering himself back down. “I love you Eliza,” He rubbed her eyes and kissed his cheek in return. “I love you too dad.” He smiles weakly. “You should go. I don’t want you to see me…” She nodded and gave him a hug. “Goodbye dad.” He patted her back. “Not goodbye, see you later.” She started sobbing as she nodded and left the room. Victor watched her leave and grinned a bit. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long. I’m coming Opal.” He closed his eyes slowly, and before long the beep of his heartbeat monitor slowed, and then became one continuous beep.