Tony always loved being in the garden. That’s where he and Sophia could always be found. Sophia would tend to the plants while he would go about weeding. She would tie them up if they were drooping from the weight of their fruit or inspecting the leaves for any evidence of insect invasion before any damage was done.
Sophia was happiest there. This was her world. He saw it on her face. She would scrunch up her nose if something was wrong with one of her plants and then when she was sure everything was taken care of her face would relax and she would smile.
Oh, that smile. If he could bottle it, he would. It just touched his heart whenever she would smile. Just to make sure she would smile for him each day he would tell her how beautiful she was. That’s when that smile would appear, and a little blush would color her cheeks as if it was the first time anyone ever said she was beautiful.
They met by chance when he attended a wine tasting in the village. She hadn’t planned on going, however a friend convinced her that she needed to get out of the house and meet some people. After all it had been 5 years since Ed had passed away. She was very young to be a widow, barely 30 at the time. She was tasting a rather dry wine and as she sipped the wine her nose scrunched up as validation of its dryness. Tony was standing next to her, and he couldn’t hold back a little chuckle. Sophia turned to him and with that beautiful smile said, “Did I do something funny?”
That was all it took for Tony to fall madly in love with her. After he told her why he laughed Sophia admitted that she was very naïve when it came to wines and really didn’t know a cheap wine from an expensive one. She only knew what she liked and wondered if anyone could really tell the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Sauvignon Cabernet. They sipped their wines and talked freely. All the while he was wondering how it would be to kiss those lovely lips of hers.
Tony couldn’t get enough of Sophia. Although he was 10 years her senior, they seemed to enjoy the same activities and even had the same likes and dislikes in food. It wasn’t long before they confessed their love for each other. Life was good.
After about a year of sleepovers at each other’s homes Sophia agreed to move in with him. It seemed senseless to maintain two homes. Tony was only too happy to have Sophia living with him.
They planned to wed the next summer when daylilies, Sophia’s favorite, were in bloom. Sophia was a beautiful bride. It took his breathe away when he saw her move gracefully down the aisle. He thought he must be the luckiest man in the world. Before he met Sophia, he had resigned himself to being a bachelor the rest of his life. Things just never seemed to work out for him. He was an attractive man he supposed, and he was kind and considerate, nonetheless romance was not in the cards for him, so he thought.
Then one day soon after they had married, Sophia said she was pregnant. He was going to be a father. She had just come back from the doctor’s office and although she was always very healthy the doctor said she was at high risk because of her last two miscarriages. They played it safe and made sure Sophia got plenty of rest and ate properly. The pregnancy progress normally until the sonogram revealed that the placenta was detaching from the umbilical cord. Their baby would not be able to get the nourishment it vitally needed for the pregnancy term. Her doctor wanted to schedule a C-section as soon as possible. Sophia was just 8 ½ months along and although it was a little early the doctor felt the baby would be fine. He said the baby weighed approximately 7 lbs. which would give the baby a good start once out of the womb.
The day Sophia had to go for her scheduled C-section they were both so excited. They had decided that they did not want to know the gender of the baby which made it even more exhilarating. Tony was able to be in the delivery room when the baby was born. And there he was! Their beautiful baby boy! Tony and Sophia were over the top with excitement. Shortly after, everything fell apart. Sophia was bleeding uncontrollably, and the nurse quickly ushered him out of the delivery room. All Tony could do was wait.
Tony wandered to the nursery to take a look at their newborn baby boy. Tears ran down his cheeks as he thought, what will we do if Sophia doesn’t make it? The NICU nurse noticed how emotional Tony was and motioned through the glass if he wanted to come in and hold his son. Tony quickly donned the NICU garb and sat in the nursery rocker holding his beautiful blond-haired son. He had deep blue eyes just like Tony and when he opened them to look at him, Tony swore he smiled at him just like Sophia did the first day he met her. About that time the delivery nurse came in and said he could see his wife when he was ready. Tony didn’t want to leave his son, but he was anxious to see Sophia too.
Sophia looked pale and small lying in the hospital bed. When she noticed him as he walked in, she gave him one of her biggest smiles. She told him she would probably have to stay a few days longer because of the bleeding and wondered if he would be okay alone at home. Tony hoped to take her and their son home, but he knew it was best if she stayed a few extra days. Their thoughts turned to what they were going to name their new baby boy. During Sophia’s pregnancy they had come up with two names. Angela if it was a girl and Dominic if it was a boy. Now it seemed that Dominic didn’t quite fit this precious little boy who was small and fair. They chose the name “Finn” which was a Gaelic name meaning “small blond soldier”. Their baby boy was fair and arrived with a birth weight of just under 7 lbs. nonetheless Tony knew he would be a fighter as every good soldier is.
Unfortunately, as the days passed Sophia did not get better. She became weak and it was difficult for her to even nurse Finn. Eventually Tony brought Finn home without Sophia. He did his best to care for Finn, but he longed for the day that Sophia would be coming home to take care of their precious son. Then the phone rang at 3 a.m. from the hospital informing Tony that he needed to get there as quickly as possible. Sophia was going into Septic shock. She had developed an infection and her body was just too weak to fight it off even with the antibiotics the doctor was administering. Tony quickly called Mrs. Felder from next door, and she came right away to stay with Finn while Tony rushed to the hospital.
Tony crept softly into Sophia’s room and Sophia smiled that smile he loved one last time. She was gone. The doctor pronounced Sophia dead at 3:45 a.m. Tony lay on the bed next to her for what seemed like only a few minutes but must have been an hour. He didn’t want to leave her and wondered what he and Finn were going to do without her.
***
Tony went back to his weeding just as Finn came racing up on his dirt bike. Finn stopped and said, “Dad, can I go to Alice’s house for dinner tonight? Her mom is making spaghetti; you know that’s my favorite!” As Tony watched Finn, he wondered what Sophia would have thought of their 16-year-old son. He definitely had Tony’s deep blue eyes and Sophia’s fair complexion. One other characteristic he acquired from Sophia was her smile. Tony was jolted back to the present when he heard Finn say, “Well, can I dad?” Tony laughed, “Of course you can Finn. Just remember your manners and don’t be home too late.” Finn smiled, as he always did, “Sure dad. I’ll remember. Thanks, dad, love you.”
Tony knew that Sophia was probably scrunching her nose up wherever she was and thinking you spoil that boy, but then he was sure her face would relax, and she would smile knowing she would have done the same thing if she were there with them.