The young woman looked at the bottle and started pouring the remains down the drain.  The sauce clumped around the small exit slowly trickled into the sink.  It reminded her of Josiah, his life had slowed down after the illness, and seemed clumped around the end, and she had watched it slowly trickle out until it was finally gone.

The clump was breaking up and the sauce finally made its way into the sink, the bottle was rinsed and put into the recycling container.  Josiah loved the red hot like sauce and ate it with most everything - no more red sauce for him.  The tears finally released from her eyes. Eyes that had watched for months as the illness took her man away.  A man that had been strong, and had watched over her and doted on her had started to change a little at a time until finally she had to watch and dote on him.  It had been an honor though to finally give back something to him, though it would be the last thing given and the last accepted.

How could she continue life without her Joe?  Today there were no answers only tears and grief without comfort, not unlike that other time.

It caught her attention; she reeled so quickly that she almost lost her footing.  The light from the window had caught it and illuminated it, capturing every color there was.  The woman slowly made her way across the room and there in a corner was a most beautiful gilded box.  As she stooped to pick it up the sunlight quickly swirled over the jewels, making her eyes dance with the wonder of surprise.  Emeralds, rubies, sapphire, pearls and more decorated the top and sides of this pretty treasure.  It was not a very large box though it was slightly bigger than her small and delicate hand. Jo had always said her hands were like child's hands because they were so small. 

She had been looking at the box for nearly an hour now - wondering if she dare open it.  She had looked at every single jewel no less than a dozen or more times, and had seen the curious artist mark on the bottom, but had still not opened it.  What was she afraid of?  What secretive thing was stored inside?  Maybe there was nothing inside?

Finally she slide the pin from its locked position and ever so slightly lifted the top...inside were two small compartments, one held a letter and the other a locket that she recognized immediately.

She lifted the locket from its place and stared at it in shock and disbelief.  It was the first thing that her Jo had given to her.  She thought it was lost forever, this cherished thing, and she was never able to talk to him about it.  How much it had meant to her and that she was sorry for its loss.  It was a locket of great detail and quality given to her during a time of great personal tragedy after the death of their only child, a son.  Inside the locket was a picture of that darling boy and Jo, his father.  The locket itself had been commissioned and made in France, it was no ordinary locket, it took awhile to maneuver the opening because the catch was concealed, and the locket itself was made of platinum and fine gold with three diamonds on the front of the locket, one for Jo, their son and one for her.

She stared at the locket for a long time and finally picked up the letter:

???Dear Gabrielle,

???I found the locket after you left our home and had it repaired.  I am not sure when I will give it back to you. 

???How could you think that I could love you any less because our son has died? When we married, I knew that we would experience all that life handed to us: the bitter and sweet.  My darling, the bitter just came first.  Now that our son is gone and there is never to be another, my love for you is not any less.  My sorrow is eased each time I hold you inside my arms because I know that we share this time together, and that we will be fine once our hearts begin to mend.

???You think that I am so shallow a person that I would throw away all that we have together because my son is not?  I have you, my darling, my angel, my love and we have our lives together.  We can make it through anything as long as we are together.

You and I are like???

The letter ended abruptly like he had been called away or perhaps she had entered and he'd stopped writing.

The tears started afresh drenching the letter and the locket with love born anew because of a husband's love letter to his wife.  Sweeter still was the knowledge that she had not failed him in any way that ever counted, for with him, the bitter and sweet were apart of all that life held, a knowledge that he had accepted, and now so could she. 

Gabrielle fastened the locket around her neck, dried her tears and made her decision to accept the bitter with the sweet; and life without Jo would be bittersweet.

Maria Carey

?© 2001