I really like the friendship Ted and Chel have- but that's all it'll ever be. Read and review!
Love Rhyleigh xoxox
Louise Alice Taylor
Born- May 12th 1943
Died-November 8th 2007
"Until we meet again".
Ted Taylor stood in front of the grave, his usual hat clasped in front of him, his rock. His rock was lying in the grave in front of him- his wife had been everything to him. They had no secrets. After forty three years, a child and three (now four) grandchildren, he had hoped they would be together forever.
But life had had other plans.
"Hi Ted", Chel Warne said gently, from behind him.
Ted gave her a small smile. "Hi, Chel".
They stood in silence- out of the whole extended Rafter family; they were two of the closest. Sure, they had their disagreements, but somehow, they had formed a bond. They were two lonely people who had both lost someone very important to them- but as Ted had lost his, Chel had found hers. She had found hers in the whole Rafter family, and the son she had never got to see grow up.
"This is Louise's grave, right?" Chel checked.
Ted nodded sadly. "Yep. This is Louise's".
"What was she like, Ted?" Chel asked, genuinely curious. She had never got to meet Louise- she wished she had. All she knew about the woman that she was the love of Ted's life, Julie's mother, and the grandkids had doted over her.
"She was amazing". Ted had a smile on his face, talking about her. "She was so full of life, everyone loved her. You couldn't help love her. We were married when we were young- like Dave and Julie did- and Julie was born a year and a bit later. Louise loved kids; she loved them more than anyone would ever know. But after Julie, we just had so much trouble having kids. She'd miscarriage, and the pain she went through whenever she miscarried was unbearable. Louise, she loved travelling, but she had her hometown. And she loved the summer- she loved Whiting Beach, especially. We took Julie there every summer until she was married- and even then, she and Dave and the kids tagged along".
Chel smiled- when the Rafter family had taken a weekend escape to Whiting Beach, Ted had had a smile on his face the entire time- he was quite obviously reliving memories, the memories he had lived with his wife, his soul mate.
"She doted over the grandkids- she loved all of them so much. Nathan was her special favourite, but she had a bond with Rachel that was unbreakable. I remember her taking Rachel on her very first plane ride, for her thirteenth birthday. And Ben? He was her comic relief; she'd always talk to him whenever she needed a joke. Louise loved jokes, all kinds- which is good, because all of Ben's jokes are bad. She would have loved Ruby- and Julie honoured her mother, choosing her middle name. Ruby Louise- Louise loved babies more than anything. I wish she could be here, to watch her grow up. She saw all the other kids grow up and venture off into the world- she was so proud of them. we all were".
"I wish I could have seen them grow up", Chel said wistfully. "I love those kids more than anything- I love all of them".
Chel had come into their life when Julie found out she was pregnant with Ruby- a year after her mother's death- and she had fallen in love with the entire family. She had given Dave up for adoption when he was almost two years old, for she was not able to care for him anymore. That was one of the things in her life that she regretted the most- not being able to see her son grow up, get married, have kids of his own.
"I miss her, Chel. I miss her more than I ever thought I could". Ted traced the cool stone, the engraving of his wife's name.
"I wish I could have met her".
"She would have loved you", Ted assured her. "In a way, she always felt Dave was her son, too, you know? I mean, she was there when he didn't have a mother to turn to, and Dave loved that. Now he does have a mother- I mean a mother back in his life- and now Julie can turn to you, like she did to Louise".
The two exchanged smiles.
In no way was Chel replacing Louise- it wasn't possible to replace such a loved member of the community, her bright and bubbly soul. She had come into the Rafter family right when they needed her the most. She was there merely as a friend of Ted's, nothing more.
Louise was irreplaceable, and no one in the Rafter family would ever forget her.