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ON EACH AND EVERY WEDNESDAY by ANNE CONNORS (Winner of FIRST PLACE FLASH FICTION CONTEST)

ON EACH AND EVERY WEDNESDAY
by
ANNE CONNORS

    
     He’s part of a gathering of ancient warriors, veterans of similar wars. He continues to

 come to the coffee shop at the same time every Wednesday. He never misses. He’ll come

 of course… until he can’t.

     Old Bill, as he’s affectionately called, was born in 1916. He is a man of diminished

 stature, the curve of his back confirming his age and infirmities. His fingers, like

parakeet’s feet, clutch the arms of an aluminum walker behind which he shuffles with

 baby steps. Clean shaven, he dresses in a beige zip-up jacket, smartly creased gray

 trousers and laced white tennis shoes. He’s the picture of conservatism, except

 for the bright red felt Fedora hat he wears, his trademark flag of attitude. Faded

 cataract-blue eyes behind light tortoiseshell-framed glasses search a clear path forward

 as he maneuvers the walker between the tables and chairs at the coffee shop. His face is

 etched with wrinkles, from too many smiles perhaps.

     Old Bill, invisible to the young who bear him no consequence, may be indistinct but

if one looks closely and listens carefully as he reveals his past, a miraculous

transformation occurs. He joins the group, settles himself in the hard- backed plastic chair

and converses with others who understand where he placed in history. The man of his

 youth emerges, animated and alive behind the façade of old age. I may write about his

 tales but the true prize has been his friendship.


                                                                                                                                    


     Having mentioned my upcoming trip to England, he reached out, clutched my arm and

 turned to me requesting a small favor. I was to go to the place in his memories, stand on

 the shore where he once stood and look out to sea beyond the dunes, just as he had done

 so many years before.

     He’d been in England on D- day listening to the deafening roar of planes. The hot

 smell of acrid engine oil permeated the air as he watched the bombers take off and

 darken the sky on a mission to free our countries from oppression. I am here only

 because he… was there. I did as he asked.

      The beaches, unchanged by time, looked exactly as he’d described.  Nearby, the

old aerodrome, now a university, stood testament to his accounts. I plucked two stones

 from the sand, flint that was rough and grey on the outside, smooth, shining and glass-

like on the interior… unpolished gems- just like Old Bill. I pocketed them and added a

 sea-shell.

     Upon my return I handed him the treasures. He clutched them to his heart. The old

 man’s eyes welled up with tears of sad remembrance while the young man inside him

 rejoiced in holding a small piece of  a place he loved.

     Old Bill has been married to his high school sweetheart for sixty-eight years and the

 transformation of youth reappears when he speaks of his love for her. She doesn’t know

 about me…she doesn’t know about anything or anyone, not even Old Bill.

      I’ll continue to be there on Wednesdays, just as I have for years, but know the day

 will come when I sit at the table… see his empty chair, his coffee getting cold and I’ll

 know why he isn’t there.

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