Page 12 of Someone to Remember
Speak of the devil… I receive a text from my friend Roni, who asks what Gage and I are up to today, as we often spend time together with our kids on the weekends.
I leave the text unanswered for now.
Roni and Derek, two of our Wild Widows, are due to be married in the spring. We’ve been looking forward to celebrating two people who’ve been to hell and back after losing their spouses, as they step boldly into their chapter two, creating a new family with the children they had with their late spouses.
Gage and I are getting married later this month.
Adrian and Wynter quietly tied the knot back in April and told us afterward when they hosted a party to celebrate.
Life is marching forward for the rest of us as Taylor’s falls apart once again.
Gage reaches across the center console for my hand. His warmth makes me realize how cold I am.
Thinking of Taylor’s sweet kids and the news she’s bringing home to them makes me sick to my stomach. I turn to her and see that she’s staring out the window. “Tay.”
“Yeah?”
“How can we help when we get you home? What do you need?”
“I have to tell the kids.”
“We’ll be with you for that and anything else that has to be done.”
“You should go home to your family. You guys don’t need to go through this with me. You’ve already suffered enough.”
“Unless you tell us to get lost, we’re not going anywhere for as long as you need us.”
“Don’t put yourself through it, Iris. I appreciate you being with me overnight, but you don’t need to walk this path with me again. You two are on your way to happily ever after, and that’s what you should focus on.”
“What would you do? If this had happened to me, what would you do?”
She has no answer for that.
“You’d come running, and you’d stay for as long as I needed you, regardless of how painful it was for you to relive it.”
A sob erupts from her chest. “No one should have to do this twice.”
“You’re absolutely right, but no one should ever have to do it alone. We’re here for you and the kids for the long haul.”
“I want you to promise me…”
“Anything.”
“If it’s too much for you, go home. I’ll understand better than anyone ever could. Promise me.”
“I promise.”
When Gage squeezes my hand, that small show of support is everything to me. I spoke for both of us, but I knew he’d understand. We don’t agree on everything, but in our interactions with other young widows, we’re usually in lockstep.
Several cars are parked outside Taylor’s home.
“Oh God, my sister’s here, too.”
“Do you want me to ask her to give you some space?”
“That’s okay. She wants to help.”
“Remember how this goes, Tay. You say what, how, when, who… You’re the boss.”
