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Getting Old is the worst, and it’s slowly starting to hit Merriell.
Merriell begins to notice the stiffness of his bones, misplacing any item he can get his hands on, and forgetting the names of all of his grand-childern. He can’t help the fact that they all look the damn same. His hair, which was once dark and lucious, is starting to become like salt and pepper. Also, his eyesight (like his memory) is going to shit. He can’t see well, or remember much of anything. The mixture of Parkinson’s and early stages of Alzheimer’s isn’t helping. It leaves Merriell frustrated and he feels useless. Before, he was unable to express his feelings, but Alzheimer's isn’t helping. It’s not comforting ethier that he knows it’s going to get worse, and there’s nothing he can do about it.
Throughout this, Eugene, Merriell’s doting husband and “better half”, is nothing but understanding. He’s the sweet old man everyone loves. A retired Biology professor and lover of nature, Eugene’s both smart but gentle. Eugene and Merriell have been there for eachother for nearly forty years. It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Like any couple, they’ve had their moments. Long periods of not talking to each other, fights, but they make up. They fight because they love each other, and Merriell wouldn’t trade Eugene for anything in the world. Eugene understands that Merriell, like him, is getting older. But Merriell is aging faster, and it’s hard for Eugene to see, but he’s willing to be there every step of the way.
Eugene’s a biology teacher, so he somewhat understands human nature and how human bodies work. Like Merriell, Eugene is familiar with Alzhimer’s. His father had it, but much later in life, and much worse. It helps Eugene learn how to help Merriell out. He never gets frustrated with Merriell, despite how Merriell can get frustrated with himself. The two men keep things simple, create a routine for memory and movement, and most importantly-Merriell learns patience. It’s not about building up progress, it’s just the progress of getting a little better. Baby-steps, as Eugene calls it.
One night, as Eugene and Merriell sleep, Merriell turns over to nudge Eugene awake.
“Genie,” Merriell hums in his syrupy accent. He sounds like a child begging for attention as he gently shakes Eugene’s shoulders, “Wake up, I need you.”
Eugene groans as he twists over, fluttering his eyes out, “What is it?”
Merriell has a shit eating grin on his face as he pulls a ring from his pajama bottoms. It’s a simple gold band.
“Marry me.” He says, “Let’s get outta this place. Buy a house, maybe a few dogs and cats, away from everyone. You’ll have that garden you’ve always wanted, and maybe a few Snafu’s down the line. Run away with me, Eugene.”
Merriell has a serious look on his face, and it causes Eugene to chuckle. Not in disbelief. It reminds him of the time where Merriell proposed to him on that fateful train ride. Eugene remembers the day so clearly. The smell of alcohol on the train, the train announcer calling the stop for New Orleans, and the feeling of calloused hands as Merriell held his hands, begging for Eugene to run away with him. Eugene was so glad he took Merriell's hands and trusted his fate with him. He wouldn’t have the life he always wanted in the present day.
“Mer,” Eugene coo’s as he holds Merriell’s hand. He places one of his hands on top of his, for him to feel the gold band on his finger, “We've been married for forty years. I came with you to New Orleans all those years ago. We built our house, and I have my garden. Do you remember?”
Merriell’s big green eyes look at Eugene. There bright in the dark of the night. He freezes for a moment, all while holding his husband’s hand, contemplating his words. Looking to the side for a moment, he turns back to Eugene.
“Still, I wanna marry you. Again.”
Eugene just smiles and presses a soft kiss to Merriell’s temple, making a promise to marry him again as they head back to sleep. As Eugene turns back over and pulls the sheets back up, he can still hear Merriell grumble to himself, proudly bragging that he got a southern belle of his own.
~
It’s a day like any other in August. Merriell and Eugene had woken up to thundershowers outside. Eugene had put on a spot of tea, and Merriell turned on The Notebook since he was a sucker for those cheesy films, and only Eugene knew this information. Merriell wasn’t even watching the film, but he was watching Eugene. He was reading some book, Merriell made out the title, Heartland . Merriell saw the way Eugene’s lanky fingers tapped against the edge of the book, the faint smiles at the parts Eugene admired. Merriell loved when Eugene’s reading glasses would fall from the bridge of his nose, and Eugene would mutter under his breath and use his middle finger to push them back up. Merriell was convinced he had seen Eugene do that when they were younger. Or at least he thought.
When the rain had gone away and the sun peered from the curtains, Eugene had put his book down and announced to Merriell that he was going to go check on the plants. Merriell protested, but Eugene patted his head and said he’d be back. Now Merriell was left in his armchair, being a grumpy old man, his usual self.
After a while, Merriell got sick of sitting and forced himself up. He always let out a long sigh as he got himself up, feeling the numbness of his bones. He was convinced he’d start to turn into a damn plank.
He takes a walk around the house. But it’s not careless. He walks slowly, looking at the photos hung up on the wall from the years. There are a bunch of photos of him and Eugene, and their friends, both young and old. He doesn’t really focus on the other’s as much, it’s just Eugene. Merriell can’t explain it, but today, all he can think about is Eugene. It’s total brain rot, but he doesn’t mind it. It makes him feel like a teenager with a crush all over again.
Instead of the photos, he starts to focus on what’s beneath the photos-the trinkets from over the years. Merriell’s, much to everyone’s disbelief, likes to remienize. He likes to keep things from the past, believing that they have significance. He wanted to look back at them and think of them as important times in his life.
When entering the house, next to the shoe’s and photos is a small Jewelry box. It once belonged to Eugene’s mother, pressed with lavender with gold on the sides. It’s small and clear, and instead is gold. Merriell takes the box in his hand and opens them. What looks like golden earrings or rings is deceiving to the naked eye. Instead, there are golden teeth. The aged, gold teeth rest inside of the box. Taking one into the middle of his finger, Merriell examines it. Merriell remembers being a little more psychotic when he was a young man, and the war only prompted it. Snafu has a defensive mechanism, and it sure did work. Nobody knew the reason why he would chip gold teeth out of dead soldiers. Most assumed it was because he was a psycho, which they weren’t mostly wrong about. Merriell had intentions to sell the gold back home, since all of the rich folk in New Orleans seemed to like it. He knew he’d make a good living off of it.
But when he saw Eugene, it all changed. He remembers turning to Burgie, announcing that he was going to marry Eugene after the war was over, and if they were all alive. Burige rolled his eyes, but didn’t turn down being Merriell’s best man. Merriell had kept his promise and used the gold from the teeth to create wedding bands for the two men. It was expensive, but it was all worth it in the end.
The rings make Merriell think of the two pieces of jewelry on his body. He looks under his flannel shirt and pulls out the dog tags under his wifebeater. It was still cold, and silver. But they're not his, but Eugene’s. He runs a finger over them, remembering when Eugene had given it to him when Merriell was being deployed to fight in Korea. Eugene was naturally pissed, considering that Merriell didn’t tell him that he had signed up until the night before he was to leave. Eugene knew he couldn't do anything, so they swapped dog tags. It was a faint reminder that Merriell was Eugene’s, and Eugene was Merriell’s. At Least what Merriell said as he held back tears at the infamous train station.
Long before Merriell was to be deployed, Merriell and Eugene were still newlyweds. They had taken a vacation down in Florida. Sid and Mary had a house down on the keys, and allowed the newlyweds to use it. What included a lot of naked bathing, sex, and smoking also included some sweet momments.
As Merriell felt his middle finger, he felt the ring that Eugene had given them on his honeymoon. Not the wedding band, but a family heirloom that belonged to his father. It was a gold ring with a purple stone in the middle. Rich and pretty, just like Eugene. Eugene liked to see Merriell wear his jewelry, and Merriell liked to see Eugene ethier butt naked, or in his clothes. It worked out.
Along with Eugene’s dog tags, Merriell had put Eugene's ring on there. Just in case everything had gone south. At Least Eugene could get his things back.
Merriell was lucky to come back home three years later. Unscraped, twice a charm. A lot of men weren’t as lucky as he was.
Merriell feels the urge to go to see Eugene. As he walks through the kitchen, he stops. Near the fridge is a lighter. It’s not just any ordinary lighter, it’s Gunny Haney’s lighter. It’s small and steel with a blue diamond saying “one” in big, orange colors. It’s a marine division lighter, and both Eugene and Merriell swear by it. Haney had given it to Eugene, and the two men cherished it since Haney was the man at their wedding. And no, he did not cry. His eyes were just sweating.
Merriell hated thinking about the war, but if it was about Pops, he didn’t mind.
Merriell took the lighter in one hand, and Eugene’s ring in another and set his mind to the greenhouse. He exits from the back porch and towards the greenhouse. Entering, he sees Eugene. He’s watering some plants with his red hunter boots and apron on. Merriell slowly stops until Eugene turns around to notice him.
“Merriell,” Eugene puts down the can and smiles, walking towards Merriell. “Is everything okay?”
Merriell nods his head, “Yeah, just missed you. Can I...talk to you?”
“Why of course. We’re married, remember?”
Taking Eugene’s hand, Merriell begins to take Eugene out to the backyard, “Yeah, yeah. I remember.”
“Mer, where are you taking me?”
They stop under a tree in their backyard with a porch swing. The sun is no longer shining, and the dark grey clouds are beginning to infect the sky. Merriell holds up Eugene’s ring, presenting it as he gets down on one knee.
“Here. I think this is where I proposed,” Merriell confesses. Eugene looks down at Merriell in awe, and Merriell puts his hand over Eugenes.
“I said I would do it again. So Marry me again, please .”
Merriell’s eyes, like when he was younger, beg. His face doesn’t show it, but his eyes are down. Eugene puts on a soft smile and bends down to Merriell’s height, nodding.
“I said I would, so,” Eugene takes the ring from Merriell’s hand and puts it on his finger. It’s right on top of his golden wedding band, “So I will, Merriell Shelton.”
Just like before, Merriell claps his hands over Eugene’s cheeks (gently, as well) and kisses him. Eugene accepts the kiss and leans in, holding Merriell’s shoulders for balance. Rain starts to pour from the sky, but they don’t care.
It reminds Eugene of the time Merriell had proposed after the house had been built. There was a thunderstorm outside, but the two men kissed in the rain. Merriell’s white shirt had stuck to his body as he held up Eugene, who’s hand ran through his damp curls.
They'll always have each other, on that house on the hill.