My oh my, things have been changing for my Job and I. Things haven’t been too peaceful around here lately. We’ve had our share of everything, Lord knows. Everything. We’ve lived a hundred lifetimes together. It’s funny, sometimes when I look at him, all of the lines on his face just disappear and his liver spots go away and his eyes aren’t cloudy but a crystalline blue and it is 1949 again and everything is just perfect. See, but my problem is I go and mess it up by saying something stupid like "We need to get the bottles out for the milkman." And he looks at me like I’m crazy and says "Now, Saffron, you’re talking nonsense. There ain’t been a milkman our way since 1961." He’ll look at me and the wrinkles come back and his eyes get cloudy again and I’m confused for a spell, like I just woke up from a dream and don’t know what to make of anything. You would think I’d learn to not say a word when that happens, to just be silent and not ruin it; it’s my talking that messes everything up. I open my mouth and say something stupid and then we’re right back in the here and now, old and tired and it’s lousy. It breaks my heart. But I’m comforted by his presence, just his presence makes me feel better, like it doesn’t really matter that I’m old and I get confused or lose track of the year, because he’s old too, and he’s here with me, and it’s always a warm feeling that comes over me then, just knowing he’s here.

He has always been my comfort, my sweet Job, even before we were old. I came so close to losing him, when he was away at the war. I did lose him, really, for all intents and purposes, I mourned his departure like it was death, and I grieved for him every day he was gone, as if I had buried him. The loss felt so great, so powerful. Then I would get a letter, or a telegram, and I’d be okay for a while. That was my comfort then.

It’s funny, that a boy like Job and a girl like me ended up together. Who would’ve thought, after all these years! Except, right now, I can’t remember how many years, exactly. I wouldn’t admit this out loud, but I’m not quite sure what year it is at this moment. It’ll come back to me, it always does. I have to just let it go and stop thinking about it and it comes back, every time. I don’t know how long it’s been, exactly, since Job and I first met, I know we just had our fiftieth anniversary party- I DO remember that; it was quite the to-do, how could I forget? The kids tried to pull it off as a surprise, but Job had tipped me off, so kindly; he knows I hate surprises, and I swear I would have killed him if I would have shown up at that banquet hall thinking we were going to dinner with the kids. I would have beat him senseless right there in front of our thousands of guests. Okay, so maybe I exaggerate but there were at least a hundred folks there, I’m sure of it. When was that? Last year? Or longer? 10 years maybe? I don’t know. Trying to do math in my head right now just overwhelms me and makes me tired and it’s not really important anyway, in the grand scheme of things. My point is, we’ve been together forever. And I still remember, the first time he spoke to me, in the library at school. That boy had the nerve to ask me why my parents went and named me after a middle-eastern spice. Ha!
"The question is why would two god-fearing Christians name their son after the most cursed man in the Bible?" He was ready for that one, as if he’d been answering it all his life, and I’m sure he had.

"Job was a man of unshakable faith." He answered. "But if you want to know the truth, I think my mother was pissed off when she had another son." See his momma had six boys already, and Job, my sweet Job, was the seventh. "I think it was her way of saying she felt like the most cursed woman."

"So maybe you would be bad luck for me, then, too, Job Paulson. Maybe I should date a boy with a blessed name like Peter or Matthew."

"Oh, yes! Or Jesus!" He answered. He was always quick like that, and he made me laugh all the time.

We were never the richest or the most successful family in town, but Lord, if anyone could top us on love and laughter, I’d have been quite surprised.

Things aren’t so good anymore. I’ll be the first to tell you that. I may get confused sometimes, but I know one thing for sure. My Job is not well. And I’ll tell you another thing, too. I think it’s about time for us to be checking out of here. 2003. The year is 2003. We were married 62 years ago.

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