In Life and Death

Tim's POV

'Friends and family, we are gathered here today to celebrate the life and honor the memory of the late Jill Taylor' begins Wilson.

At these words, I burst into tears for the third; and not final time that day.

It still seems so hard to believe that I'll never see her again. Just two weeks ago we celebrated our 30th anniversary. Then a week ago, sitting on the couch reading, she had a stroke. She died before she could make it to the hospital. They still don't know what caused the stroke.

I'm not even catching any part of Wilson's service. All I can think of is trying to get it together so I can deliver the eulogy that I wrote.

I sneak a glance at the boys. Brad isn't crying, but I can tell that he wants to. Randy has his head in his hands.

Jill's sisters are on my other side. Robin, then Carrie, then Linda, then Tracey, all lined up in a row, looking like a bunch of nuns, minus the white from the dresses.

Lillian is directly to my right. Parker is next to her. The irony of it all is that this, March 11, 2010, is there 10th anniversary. Amazing how those kinds of things happen.

Speaking of amazing, I can hear the song Amazing Grace begin playing. That's significant to me for two reasons. One, it played at my dad's funeral, and two, it's my cue to go to the podium and give the eulogy.

I stand up, and begin the walk to the podium. It seems as if the walk is a few miles, not a few feet.

Once I get there, I look to Wilson for reassurance. I can't tell for sure if he smiles at me or not, since a plant he is standing next to blocks the view of the lower portion of his face. I'd guess he did, judging by the twinkle in his eye.

I hope everybody likes this eulogy. After all, I'm not a very skilled writer.

'Jill was a woman who touched many lives' I begin rather shakily. 'She brought a smile into the life of everyone she met. I was married to her for 30 years and one week. I can say with all honesty that every single one of those days, all ten thousand, nine hundred and twenty seven, were the best of my life. Jill and I met under less than romantic circumstances. We had both had bad dates, and wound up going to a McDonald's, where due to a bad hamburger, I wound up throwing up on her new shoes. A couple of years later, we were married. Together we welcomed three children into this world' I say, beginning to cry at this point. 'Many people always thought that Jill deserved a much better husband than me. The truth is, about 60 percent of the time, she did. We argued quite a lot, which is why I say a healthy marriage needs to have some debate. It keeps everyone thinking quickly. I don't think her death has separated us. We took the vow to be "together in life and in death". Now that one of us has departed, we truly are together in life, and in death. I'm reminded of something I once saw on a card. "Not even a thousand miles can separate us". This may be more than a thousand miles Jill, but it still will not separate us' at this point, I begin to cry like a baby. 'I'm sorry, I meant for this to be longer, but I can't go on' I manage to stay through the steady stream of tears that are flowing from my eyes.

Randy and Brad come up to the podium and help me back to my seat.

Third Person POV

15 minutes later, the casket containing Jillian Taylor née Patterson, is lowered into the ground, forever to rest next to that of Marcus Jason Taylor.

Soon enough they'd have company, though no one knew it at the time. All Tim Taylor was to find at midnight that night in his kitchen was one of his boys, and a bloody steak knife.

A/N: I might do one last chapter if enough people like this one. As for now, you decide which of the boys killed their self.

Please read and review, I do appreciate it!

Thanks for reading.

-Yours truly, Randy Taylor