It was a cold and dark evening over the Addams estate. Morticia was stood looking out of the window of the master bedroom, watching the rain pouring down over the cemetery behind the house. She often stood there, enjoying the calming sensations of the droplets rolling down the window or the sound of the thunder that often shook the house.
But tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight her cheeks were stained with her tears just as much as the outside world was with rain.
As tonight marked one year without her beloved.
"A whole year!" She thought to herself, looking around the room at some of the things she had kept out to remind herself of his presence. Not that she'd ever forget.
She turned away from the window and slowly began to walk towards the door, the rest of the family would be waiting for her downstairs for dinner. They'd waited for her since she lost Gomez, to make sure that she was okay and to help her if she ever needed it. The children had taken his death better than she could have ever hoped. Of course, she often woke up in the middle of the night to find little Wednesday wrapped around her, and Pugsley now spent most of the time locked away in his father's office, but they behaved and for that she was eternally grateful.
She caught her reflection in the mirror as she reached to open the door and her heart dropped. She'd let her appearance falter lately, she felt as though she had no-one to impress anymore, including herself! She rarely styled her hair anymore, and no-one protested or asked her why. They all knew that she was taking it badly. She had lost the love of her life, the father of her 2 beautiful children, the man who changed her, who she loved with every fibre of her being.
It was mainly just the fact that his death was so unexpected. They had been outside watching Uncle Fester carrying out his latest experiment when Fester left to swap to a brighter light bulb. He had left her side after a beat and strolled over to inspect the set-up, placing his ever present cigar in his suit pocket. He looked at each bottle with great curiosity before selecting a vial of a dark red liquid. He uncorked the top, took a sniff of its contents, and with a small chuckle to himself, took a swig.
"Fester brews some good stuff!" She remembered him saying in that upbeat way that was so unique to him, and never failed to make her smile. She remembered how they'd stood and watched Fester send various items flying through the air following explosions of wonderful colours. But she felt his protective arm around her waist loosen and his breath hitched beside her. She remembered turning to him to see that his eyes were completely glazed over and his knees were beginning to buckle.
"Gomez?"She remembered her words coming out as nothing more than a whisper as she tried to hold him up. He coughed and spluttered, trying in vain to hold on to her shoulders to steady himself but his legs wouldn't hold him. She remembered being dragged down to her knees, unable to support her husband's weight in the same way that he could hold her. She brought his head to her chest, patting his cheeks urgently. "Darling, what is it?"She asked him louder, the panic now truly setting in.
"Th-the drink"He coughed out his words as stray panicky tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorr-"She remembered how he held her hand, brought it to his lips for the last time before the life left his body with a final deep breath.
"No, no stop."Her mind was running through a million emotions, it all happened so fast. She pulled him close, trying to shake him back to consciousness as the reality of the situation hit her with a tremendous force, leaving her struggling for breath too. "I don't- No stop this- Gomez please!"Her voice was getting louder and more frantic as she felt her eyes burn, becoming more and more clouded with tears. She looked into his still open eyes, looking for any sign that he was still there, that he was still holding on.
Nothing. She swore she felt her heart stop beating too.
If only she were that lucky.