He looked down where she lay, looking so peaceful and serene in the soft light. In his hand, he held a single white rose. His eyes misted over as he silently acknowledged her beauty. Even at seventy-four years of age, she looked just as beautiful as she had on their wedding day fifty-six years ago today.
Elizabeth had been a beautiful bride, both inside and out. Robert had wanted to get married as soon as he'd asked her on Independence Day but she had stubbornly insisted on a Valentine's Day wedding. Those five months had seemed like an eternity to him, but he would have given her the world just to be with her. She had often said he did just that.
Robert smiled to himself as he thought someone should have warned him about this woman. Elizabeth was a stubborn woman, and though her stubbornness was often thoroughly frustrating and the cause of many an argument throughout their lives, it was one of the charms that had pulled them together. She was a strong, independent woman who had high ideals, yet she had always found a way to keep him blissfully happy without giving up on her cause at the time.
Robert closed his eyes and was instantly transported back to their wedding day. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her walking down the aisle toward him. "My God, she's gorgeous," he thought to himself as Elizabeth grew nearer. She was dressed in a simple yet beautiful hand-made gown that she and her mother had toiled over in the months following the proposal. Her hair was pulled back and laced with a ring of wildflowers. In her hand, she held a single white rose.
The rose, through the years, had become a private message between the two of them. Elizabeth had always loved white roses because, as she described it, they were a symbol of pureness. Because of her reasoning, the rose had come to mean so many things to the couple. It was first and foremost a symbol of the pureness of their loyalty and love to one another. On more than one occasion, it had become an apology for one of the many arguments that the couple had throughout their years together. Things weren't always perfect and there were a lot of ups and downs, but a well placed rose at the right time seemed to jolt the two of them back to what was important: each other.
They had never bought each other a gift for Valentine's Day or their wedding anniversary. Elizabeth said that each day together was a gift in itself, so it had become his tradition to give her a single white rose on that special day. She, in turn, had given him a love deeper than most would ever know in their lifetime. Even in the hard times, the rose became a simple yet strong symbol of understanding for a simple yet strong love.
Robert opened his eyes, looking at her once more. Lying there peacefully, she looked like an angel. How many times had he laid awake just watching her sleep and thinking the very same thought. How many times had she watched him without him knowing? Was he ever able to make her as happy as she made him? She would be upset with him for questioning that, he knew. She had made her happiness known years ago on their wedding night. He hadn't really doubted it since.
Their wedding night had been magic. The newlyweds had driven up the coast a short distance to a beach cottage for a long honeymoon weekend. Though it wasn't the first time they had been together, it was the first time as man and wife. The hours of that night were seared in his mind forever.
