What a bottle of eye drops taught me about my marriage

My wife Cici kneeled next to me on the bed as I lay face up.

“Michael, if you want me to put those drops in your eyes, you need to relax and hold her head still. I know you; you’ll make this difficult."

I asked her if the drops were going to burn.

She nodded yes.

I groaned and handed the bottle to her.

“You see? You’re already fighting me. Do you want me to do this or not?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “If I try this myself, I’ll wind up soaking my face. That tiny bottle cost $90. I teared up just handing my card to the pharmacist."”

She gripped the bottle and hunched over me. Her dreadlocks brushed my neck. She carefully pulled apart my eyelid. “Stop squinting, man!"

“I’m trying to keep my eye open,” I insisted. I wailed as the drop dangled from the nozzle.

“Look to the left so you can’t see it.”

Just as the drop fell, I turned my head to the left. It splattered on the bridge of my nose, and I wiped it away.

Cici sat up on her legs. “Why did you turn your head?”

“You told me to look to the left.”

“Yea, move your eyes to the left, not that big head of yours.”

I crinkled my lips. “That’s messed up."

"I've got an idea," she said. She tightened her blue bandana and threw her hair behind her shoulders. Then, she straddled me.

I rubbed her thighs. “Yeah, baby, I like where this is going."

She slapped my hand. “It’s not that kind of party."

In one quick motion, she opened my eyelid.

“Hey,” I yelled.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me mister."

I stared at the glistening drop. “It’s about to drop into my eye!”

“That’s the whole point, uh, hello!” she hissed through gritted teeth. She told me to look up so I couldn’t see it.

I thrust up my head.

At the last moment, Cici released her pressure on the bottle. She growled and raised her arms. “Why did you move your head again?"

I shrugged. “I guess it was instinct.”

She gestured to a part of her body and said, “I got your instinct right here, mister!”

I won’t tell you where HERE was.

She leaned forward and took a deep breath. This time, she told me to ONLY move my eyes.

I shifted my gaze and fought to keep my eye open. The drop landed and fire spread across my eye. I grunted and fanned my eyes.

She shook her head and smiled.
When my theatrics subsided, she gently kissed my lips and stroked my head. She gazed lovingly at me. “You know you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, right?”

I immersed myself in that quiet moment that seemed to last forever.

“OK, now the other eye!” she proclaimed, jolting me out of my bliss.

“Oh, crap,” I said, “I’ve got two, don’t I?”

“Let’s not go through this again, Michael."

I told her to give me a moment and took a couple of deep breaths.

“I’m not doing freakin’ surgery here…relax,” she barked. She opened my other eyelid and eased out the drop.

I arched my back as it slid across my eyeball.

”They’re just eyedrops,” she said, shaking the bottle for effect.

“They’re just eyedrops to you. Look what you did to me." I pretended to weep, as a tear ran down the side of my face.

She laughed and walked on her knees to the edge of the bed. She stood up, hunched over the bed and kissed me again.

“How do you put up with all my issues?” I asked.

“You’re easy to love, Michael. Besides, I’ve got my own issues. I don’t know how you put up with me half the time." Her look softened and she caressed my face with the back of her hand. “Michael, do you know what we just did here?”

“Yeah, you set my eyes ablaze."

She smiled. “No, silly, we created a memory.”

I must have looked confused because she explained.

“Look at me,” she said. “I need you to pay attention…One day, one of us will pass and all the other will have are these memories we’re creating. They will serve as cozy companions in the chill of solitude for whoever is left. Do you understand?”

I held her hand and nodded.

Now I know the secret to creating a memory: spend time together and expect life to craft magical moments with something as simple as a bottle of eye drops.

I still reflect on her words, hoping I pass first. I cannot imagine life without her. But if she does pass first, I will always have our memories to keep me warm on those days I miss her the most.