I try to write letters that are upbeat or uplifting or helpful in some way. I am sorry to say that this is not one of them.
This letter is one of regret. Regret for thinking about something but not doing it when I had the chance. Because now it is too late.
I had the dearest first cousin you could imagine. If she wasn’t an angel, she was the closest thing to one that there ever could be. This girl wasn’t just beautiful; she was gorgeous — a beauty queen, big-time.
But she was so down to earth, so sweet and kind and loving. She was one of those people who never said a bad word about anyone. She was one of those who were few and far between.
She did have a slight flaw, one for which our family forgave her long ago. She went off down in the bayous and married a Cajun!
But if you could have seen her husband Bubbie, he was just as handsome as she was beautiful. And he had a personality to die for.
It was a match made in heaven. When you saw them in recent years, they didn’t act like an “older” married couple. They always acted like they were on their first date. Just being around them was a breath of fresh air.
Over the years they had two sons, Vincent and Steve. The apples didn’t fall far from the tree — I’m sure they never lacked for girlfriends with their dark, handsome good looks.
A little over a year ago, Bubbie got sick. He ended up in the hospital with covid-19, no less, took pneumonia and just kept getting worse and worse. Within a couple of months he was gone. You can just imagine how devastated my cousin was.
I talked to her a few times on the phone afterward, and I knew she wasn’t doing too well. I knew she wasn’t big on talking on the phone. Here’s where the regret comes in. I knew I should call her and see how she was doing, but as we sometimes do, I kept putting it off.
At 5:00 one recent afternoon I got that dreaded call. It was her brother-in-law, letting me know she had passed away a few hours earlier.
It was like a nightmare, but it was all too real. And as I said at the beginning of this letter, I had good intentions, but just waited too long to act on them. I will regret that for the rest of my life.
I am so very thankful to the Good Lord that he saw fit to send this exquisite angel into my life. Elaine was a true blessing like none other, and I will miss her dearly.
I can tell you now that my loss is absolutely God’s gain.
— Debbie Touchstone, Jayess
