Finding Beauty

The wine tasted good, not too dry, not too sweet. Just right. I chuckled quietly to myself; who would have thought I’d be enjoying a glass of wine? I used to abhor the stuff, that bitter taste it left in your mouth. But here I was, glass in one hand, bottle sitting beside me, savoring every sip. Maybe it was the fact that it was hard to come by, or maybe because it was a reminder of the way life used to be, but whatever the reason, wine had become my drink of choice. Some thought I was crazy for spending as much as I did on a bottle, but after what we had all been through I figured why not enjoy the finer things in life? After all, you never know what tomorrow may bring.

“I still never get tired of that.” A soft voice came from the woman sharing the bottle with me. Her eyes were fixed on the setting sun, a dark orange ball slowly sinking behind the purple mountain range. “No matter what we see, or where we are, there’s always a beautiful sunset to remind me of the better days.”

I responded with a simple nod, her sentiment echoing my feelings exactly. That was how things had always been with us, we knew what the other was feeling, a kind of sixth sense. It had given us a happy marriage before, during, and after everything had happened, seen us through the good times and the bad. Now, we just sat and enjoyed each other’s company, and a fine bottle of wine.

“Tomorrow we hit the mountains,” I said after several quiet moments. She already knew that though. We kept a very rigid schedule, our itinerary laid out several days in advance. “I think the morphine should hold out until we get into Virginia. We can restock at the settlement there. Everything else is fine.”

A battered green spiral-bound notebook sat on my wife’s lap, open to a page listing our inventory. She twirled a red felt-tip pen around in her fingers, nodding as she scanned the page. “Still have plenty of antibiotics…antihistamine is good…antiseptic’s good…” she trailed off, coming to the bottom of the page. “Oh, we are going to need some more needles. And another pair of forceps. I know you left our others at the settlement near Knoxville.”

She was probably right, but things had been crazy there. If that’s all I forgot at that settlement then we were pretty lucky. Overall though, I was pleased that our supplies were holding out so well.

I took another sip, savoring the cool red liquid. The sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains now, taking with it the warmth of the day. Behind us, our tent rippled in the breeze, the bright red cross easily visible on the dark canvas. There was enough room for the two of us inside, a portable shelter for wherever we went.

“I think I’m going to turn in.” My wife finished the last of her wine, then rinsed the glass out with water from her canteen.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I replied. My glass was almost finished.

“Don’t be too long.” The look she gave me hinted at things to come as she ducked into the tent.

I smiled, something I found myself doing much more than I would have thought, all things considered.

With one last drink I emptied my glass, then rinsed it out. I corked the bottle, now only half full, and set it back into the medical kit. Surrounded by vials, containers, and all manner of bandages, packs, and supplies, the bottle stayed safe and cool.

The mountains would be tough, I thought, but we’d be fine. After all, people there needed help too.

I took one last look out over the quickly darkening landscape. Out here the world was still beautiful. It was sad that so many people couldn’t see it.

I ducked inside the tent, zipping it closed behind me. Tomorrow was another day.