Remember When

“Please, Lee,” said Barbara. “It has been forever since we watched the trains go by.”
         “But last time we tried to watch the train, you got too hot and wanted to come back to the house,” Lee said as he finished raking the fallen leaves.  “And the other time you were tired and sleepy.”
         “But I want the walk now,” Barbara said, holding the bag for the raked leaves. “I  have saved a cup full of pennies to put on the track. If we put a small hole in the flattened pennies we can  give them as souvenirs to your cousins in Texas.”          Lee started closing the bag full of leaves.  “We have to finish raking the leaves first and we must hurry.  The best time to watch the train is around 12:00 noon.  The Nooner is always on time.”
         “Watching the train go by is not like watching TV,” Lee explained.  “You can’t be late because there might not be another train for several hours.”
         “That’s O.K.,” Barbara said.  “I am ready to go now.”
         Lee sighed and closed the trash bag of raked leaves. Going to watch the train would mean an interruption to the garden work that they needed to get done. “All right,” Lee said as he whistled for their dog, Happy, to follow them. 
         The train track was a short walk from their house down a paved country road.  The road was lined with tall oak trees that had been there for more than a hundred years.  These oak trees were witness to the many walks that the newly married couple took to the train track.  Usually on the short walk the conversation turned to the future as they discussed planning a family, Barbara’s career as a teacher, or problems Lee had with his work.  But today they walked in silence not really thinking about anything.  Even Happy seemed to be lost in private dreams as he wagged his tail along beside them.
         Soon the train track was in clear view.  Barbara watched as Lee placed several pennies on each rail to await the train.  Then they found a patch of grass on the nearby embankment to sit and wait. 
         “I love being married to you, Lee.  I hope we can have many years of watching the trains go by together,” Barbara said as she looked in to Lee’s blue eyes.  Lee smiled and agreed that they would have a long life together.  Soon they could hear the rumble of the train’s wheels as it was nearing their crossing.  The engineer waved as he watched the couple holding hands and sitting close together. 
         “The pennies are lovely,” said Lee as he examined the handiwork of the train wheels.  They had indeed flattened the pennies.  But Barbara noticed something else, also.  The wheels did not change the color hue of the pennies.  The new shiny pennies still looked new while the older, brown pennies still had their brownish tint.  The imprint of Abe Lincoln’s face was still there also. 
         “Just like our marriage,” Barbara said.  “Troubles may come. Difficulties may change the shape of our lives but underneath our love will still be strong and evident.”
         Twenty-six years later, Barbara walked to the train tracks, alone, with a handful of pennies. It has now been 3 years since the divorce.  As she placed the pennies on the tracks her thoughts were racing back to “Remember when we placed pennies on the tracks and made our wishes? I won’t be sad.  I’ll be glad for the life we had.  I’ll remember when.”