{"product_id":"cigarette-legs","title":"Cigarette Legs (Digital)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"23\" data-end=\"54\"\u003eThey call him \u003cem data-start=\"37\" data-end=\"53\"\u003ecigarette legs\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"56\" data-end=\"313\"\u003eThe local school kids whisper it as he passes by each morning in his grey shorts and bright tangerine socks, a freshly picked daisy clutched gently in his hand. His legs are pale and thin now, speckled with age, but there’s still a quiet rhythm in his step.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"315\" data-end=\"354\"\u003eArtie Williams is ninety-six years old.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"356\" data-end=\"394\"\u003eAnd he is still in love with his wife.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"396\" data-end=\"766\"\u003eEvery day, he walks through Taupō to the cemetery, stopping by the Waikato River where memories rise as clear as yesterday. He remembers the first time he saw Daisy Munroe. The way she made daisy-chain crowns on the riverbank. The summer of 1942, when war stole his brother — and nearly stole him too. He remembers kneeling before he left for battle, asking her to wait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"768\" data-end=\"781\"\u003eShe said yes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"783\" data-end=\"1091\"\u003eHe came home changed by war but certain of one thing: Daisy was his peace. They were married in the Taupō Anglican Church on 12 February 1946 — she weak with lupus, he steady at her side. The church overflowed with soldiers, nurses, townsfolk. She could barely make it down the aisle, but she made it to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1093\" data-end=\"1124\"\u003eSix months later, she was gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1126\" data-end=\"1163\"\u003eBut love like theirs does not vanish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1165\" data-end=\"1418\"\u003eSeventy-four years have passed since that wedding day, and Artie still wears his ring. He still visits her grave. He still remembers every detail — her red cheeks, her breathless smile, the way she laughed at the sight of his ridiculous tangerine socks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1420\" data-end=\"1491\"\u003eTo the town, he’s a frail old man with funny legs and outdated clothes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1493\" data-end=\"1527\"\u003eTo himself, he is still a husband.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1529\" data-end=\"1707\"\u003eTender, nostalgic, and quietly powerful, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1570\" data-end=\"1588\"\u003eCigarette Legs\u003c\/strong\u003e is a sweeping short story about enduring love, wartime sacrifice, grief, and the kind of devotion that outlives death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1709\" data-end=\"1759\"\u003eIt is a story of first love. Last love. Only love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1761\" data-end=\"1827\"\u003eBecause some vows don’t end with “as long as you both shall live.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1829\" data-end=\"1859\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eSome vows echo for a lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nikki Lockwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566230245609,"sku":null,"price":1.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0797\/3496\/4457\/files\/WatercolorPortraitofanElderlyMan.jpg?v=1772420224","url":"https:\/\/nikkilockwood.com\/products\/cigarette-legs","provider":"Nikki Lockwood","version":"1.0","type":"link"}