Passing

There comes a time when everyone around you just wants you to get on with it. You're moving too slow, get on with it. You're talking too much, get on with it. You're living too long, get on with it. Millicent thought that right now...get on with it.

Millicent held the car door open, the heat from the metal spread through her thin skin that covered her frail hands. Her legs were screaming, get on with it, as she watched her daughter unload the car. What a production; wrangling grandkids out of car seats, going through the tote bag she called her purse to make sure she had everything she was going to need, putting on the toddler front pack, pulling out the stroller then still chastising the children for not being patient enough. "Oh, my, God, just get on with it.", she thought.

In her day, she would have slipped on her shoulder purse, placed the toddler on her hip and held the hand of the youngest and off they would go. Millicent gently rocked back and forth on her legs trying to relieve some of the pain and stiffness from standing in one place too long. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else, a breeze, a chair, a drink. Millicent thought, but did not dare say, "Please dear, just get on with it!"

"Okay, I'm ready." Grace, her daughter, broke Millicent's trance.

"Oh, yes dear."

"Were you falling asleep just now?"

"No, dear, just resting my eyes."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Ready, just give me a minute to get my legs going."

Millicent slowly let go of the car door, shuffled a few steps, then looked up and smiled. Her legs worked just fine as long as she was moving. It was standing in one place that was difficult.

"Aren't you going to close the car door?" Grace turned around and glared incredulously at Millicent.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Just give me a minute."

"That's okay. I'll do it. You just keep heading toward the store." Grace shook her head and rolled her eyes. She definitely thought, just get on with it.

Millicent held on to the door frame as she entered the antique store. All the knick-knacks glittered at her. She took a deep breath; the dust and musty air filled her lungs. She loved antique stores for one reason, when she walked through one, memories floated through her mind of her grandmother's home. When she touched a battered, used table, she remembered sitting at her grandmother's table watching her cook 'grandma's custard' just for her. An old rolling pin conjured up her grandmother, bent over a bread board, hair held up in a calico scarf, baking a pie: rhubarb custard, her favorite. If the store had a Morris chair, she saw her grandfather sitting in it with his legs up, laughing and shouting out, "Hootenanny!" And she felt young again.

Millicent picked her way toward the back of the store, forgetting all about Grace and the kids. An overstuffed chair caught her eye. The gawdy upholstery beckoned Millicent, albeit it probably was the reason it sat alone at the back of the store. Millicent whispered, "What a wonderful Marigold chair." Marigold's covered the chair, big ones, small ones, yellow ones, orange ones all mixed together in a garden of Daisy's and Mum's. They popped out of the dark black chintz background. Millicent's fingers brushed the arm of the chair. She felt a small tingle run up her arm. She quickly pulled her hand away.

Millicent stared down at the chair. The flowers began to sway as if a breeze blew by.

"Mom! Mom!"

"Oh!" Millicent looked startled. She was sitting in the Marigold chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting, resting while you shop."

"You look like you were sleeping."

"No, just daydreaming. Isn't this a wonderful chair? It is so comfortable."

"It's hideous!"

"No, it's lovely. It reminds me of my garden."

"Yeah, if you like sitting on a bunch of old flowers."

"I do. I think I will buy this chair."

"You don't need a chair."

"Just so, I think I will buy this chair."

"Where are you going to put it?"

"I think I will replace that hideous lift chair with this one."

"But the lift chair is functional, it's useful, it helps you get up."

"It's hideous. I can get up just fine." Millicent stood up with ease. "See? Let's go arrange to have it delivered. Shall we? Did you find anything?"

"A few neat old toys."

"Good, I'm glad. Shall we get on with it?"

"Yes, please. I can't believe you are going to buy the chair."

Peaceful, thought Millicent. The chair looks peaceful in her room, so dark and bold against the cream carpet: a flower garden inside her house. Today, all the yellow Marigold's seemed to glow more vibrant than the other flowers. Millicent brushed the chair with her fingertips. She felt the same tingle. She sat down in the chair and closed her eyes.

"Gypsy! Gypsy! Come Gypsy!" Millicent screamed in panic as Gypsy, a beautiful silver German Shepard bounded away from her.

It took one week sitting on a cold concrete floor to get Gypsy to stop growling and cowering with her hackles up. Millicent sat each day for hours talking gently, coaxing Gypsy out of the corner of her pen. Finally, Gypsy crept up to Millicent's lap, ate from her hand and nudged Millicent's hand onto the top of her head. The next day, Millicent decided to take Gypsy out for a walk in the field, get some fresh air since she had been in the kennel all week. And now, Gypsy was running away.

"Gypsy!" Gypsy twirled on her haunches and bounded back toward Millicent the blue leash bounced behind her. Millicent fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Gypsy. Gypsy knocked Millicent over and licked her.

"Oh Gypsy. You came back. You came back. You came back.", echoed over and over again in Millicent's mind as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Marigold chair. I almost forgot that one." Then she closed her eyes again.

"One, two, three, three little kittens are we." They sang as they marched through the meadow filled with wildflowers.

"We are as happy as we can be. Yippee, hurrah, hurray!" Only the hurray was silent. Millicent turned around and looked back.

"Where's my third kitten?"

"He's looking at some poop in the road." Kitten number one and two said in unison.

"Interesting. Shall we all go take a look?"

"Ewww."

"It might be interesting. Let's go see. Last one there has to make treats!"

Off they ran back to kitten number three who was crouched over a pile of dog poop. He stared with great interest at the poop.

"What is so interesting?"

"The poop is wiggling!"

"Ewww. It is!"

"Hmmm. The poop isn't wiggling, it's the worms in the poop that are wiggling."

"Gross. Poop worms?"

"Actually, the dog that left the poop gift on the road has tape worms. They live inside of the dog and just come out when he poops."

"Worms inside of you!"

"Yeah, really gross, huh."

"I dare you to touch it." Kitten number one said to kitten number three. Kitten number three looked up, grinned the most mischievous smile ever and touched it.

"Aaahh!" Everyone screamed then began to laugh. The laugh echoed through the trees in the meadow. Millicent opened her eyes and tears of pure happiness and joy began to fall. The yellow Marigold brings positive feelings, happiness and joy. Millicent felt them all.

One day, the orange-red Marigolds on the chair began to glow. Curious, Millicent thought. She brushed her fingers along the back of the chair. This time, the tingle was different, not so gentle, more of a dull ache. She sat down in the chair.

"Hey, baby." Millicent opened her eyes only to be staring at the crystal blue eyes of her first love.

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want to?"

Without saying a word, Millicent pulled her T-shirt up over her head and dropped it on the dirty floor of the dimly lit tack room. The smell of horse sweat, and leather filled her nose. She touched his beautiful blonde hair. She had never gone this far before but for some reason, this time she was not afraid. He looked down at her, wrapped his strong arms around her back then pulled her gently toward him into a passionate kiss. Suddenly, a dark shadow darted across the cot.

Millicent opened her eyes. The orange-red Marigold means love passion and romance. Millicent felt the tug on her heart and like the dark shadow that flitted across the cot, she remembered how fleeting love, passion and romance could be. The memories of lost love were entangled irrevocably with finding love and romance. The heartbreak was too much. "Get on with it.", she whispered and got up.

The last day Millicent sat in the Marigold chair, it glowed a brilliant orange. She brushed her finger along the chair. A deep warmth crept up her arm, through her body and down to her toes. Millicent sat down in the chair.

"Wait for me!" Millicent shouted at her three kittens as she enjoyed the warm sand that covered her toes. The ocean wind blew the hair off of her face just enough to chill her ears. Her three kittens screamed with joy all the way to the waves that gently rolled up onto the beach. Millicent ran toward the waves not bothering to dust off the sand on her rear end. She caught up to her three kittens and said, "Hold hands!"

"One, two, three, jump!" They jumped the white ruffle at the end of the wave then ran out to meet the next ruffle, squealing and laughing the whole way. They laughed and jumped until a big, scary wave came rolling up to them. Then they turned around, grabbed hands and ran as fast as they could, hoping to beat the wave. They never could. The wave splashed up and over their backs. They surrendered when their skin turned lobster red from the cold of the ocean.

As they were heading back to the camp they made out of driftwood, a thundering noise caught their attention. Two horses, one red sorrel, one brown ran toward them.

"Bourbon and Moonshine." Millicent whispered. She let go of her kittens and ran to meet them. Bourbon, the fastest, met Millicent first with nickers and a strong push with his nose. Then Moonshine, ever so gentle, put her soft nose in Millicent's hand and nuzzled it.

"Oh, you guys. I missed you so." They both bobbed their heads up and down. Bourbon knelt down on one knee. Millicent, knowing what that meant, jumped up onto his broad back. She barely gathered his mane in her hands when he was off, running down the beach. He ran so fast, tears pulled from Millicent's eyes.

"SSShaw!" Millicent whispered in Bourbon's ear which made him go even faster. They ran along the beach until they were all out of breath. Millicent reached over to give Moonshine a scratch between the ears as she nipped at Bourbon. For the first time in a long time, Millicent felt alive, energy raced through her veins, the wind blew in her hair, the salty ocean spray filled her nose.

They walked and walked down the beach, never tiring. Millicent looked around as the sun was setting and the sky became pink, yellow and red. A bonfire burned in the distance. As they got closer, she saw her kittens all grown up, playing with their own kittens. The orange Marigold means positive energy and strong emotions. Millicent felt them all; pride, joy, life and unconditional love

"Let me stay." Millicent whispered. "I want to stay here. I'm ready, get on with it."