No Beta so please ignore mistakes
Disclaimer: Don't own Degrassi or Remember When By Alan Jackson
A pictures worth a thousand words,
The memories I've made with you are priceless.
-Me.
Photographs scattered throughout the room. They sit on shelves, hang from walls, fill up books. She'll tell you the stories behind the smiles, the memories made that day. Each photo depicts an important moment in her life. Each photo led to who she is today.
Remember when I was young and so were you
and time stood still and love was all we knew
16 years old:
"On the count of three…" Adam called, as he set the timer on the camera. Ten seconds was all they had to pose, smiling for the camera.
"Eli. Smile." Clare hissed through her teeth, as she grinned at the camera.
"No way no how," he replied through his furious scowl. This was her idea. He hated getting his picture taken, but she had pleaded with both him and Adam. She wanted "to remember this as the happiest times of her life". He knew Clare would have much happier times than this, but he didn't say so.
Clare was the type of girl to grow up and get married. She'd wait for the guy who treated her well, who was head over heels in love with her. He envied that guy, not because he'd end up with Clare, but because he would be lucky enough to fulfill her dreams.
"Okay. Ready guys?" Adam called jogging over to where they stood.
"3…2…" Adam never finished counting. Just before the camera flashed, Clare had turned and launched her lips at Eli's cheek. The couple landed on the ground with a thud, leaving a distraught Adam above them.
He had landed flat on his back, with her on top of him. The shock caused him to lose his control, and he began to smile. Not a large one, but a small perfect one. Adam had taken this moment to grab the camera and snap a shot of the happy couple.
On a shelf, right next to the CD player, sits a photograph of her and Eli. Him sprawled out on his back with his long dark hair sprawled out underneath him. He has a dazed expression on his face, though his eyes are filled with excitement. She lays on top of him, a goofy grin on her face and her short brown curls slightly messed.
The first time she fell in love.
You were the first. So was I.
Made love and then you cried.
She looked down at her empty ring finger, he had slid the ring off of it this morning. "True love waits." She had waited until she found her true love. He had waited until she was ready, and it had been perfect. No regrets hung in the air.
He still had that ring, right below his wedding ring. In a tiny heart shaped locket, she has a picture of her empty hand wrapped in his.
The first time she made love.
Remember when we vowed the vows
and walked the walk
"I know pronounce you husband and wife." The priest at her church announced with a smile. He had watched little Clare Edwards grow up. From being a gap toothed 6 year old to the beautiful woman she was today. She had tracked him down and asked him of a favor. He'd unknowingly agreed.
Eli had graciously agreed to getting married in a church, despite his beliefs. If it meant that much to Clare, he would go along with it. After all, he was the guy lucky enough to fulfill her dreams.
The wedding they had planned was anything but traditional. The only theme they had was "Clare and Eli". They picked out their favorite flowers for bouquets. Daisies and Tulips. Only their favorite foods were to be served. There was not steak and salmon, but Mac N' Cheese, Hamburgers, and an assortment of junk food and dessert. Not even her engagement ring was traditional. The skull ring he'd worn so many years ago, the ring she'd never seen him without, now sat on her finger. Two emeralds had been placed where the eye sockets had been. Every time she looked at it she grinned, thinking about Eli.
As they walked down the aisle, his arm wrapped around her waist in a tight embrace, he couldn't help but smile. He hugged strangers, greeted old friends, and he didn't mind the physical contact. His dreams had come true, and he couldn't be happier.
Hanging over the fireplace is a picture of the two of them standing at the altar. Their eyes filled to the brim with love and affection. She was crying, and he was close to it.
The first time she said "I Do"
Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard.
We lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when
They had just moved into their new apartment when it happened. She'd been putting up pictures throughout the living room when he had called her to tell her that they would be needing a new car. He was standing on the edge of the highway, examining the damage that had been done. He'd been driving home when out of nowhere, a deer had leapt in front of him.
He wasn't hurt, just a couple scrapes and maybe a bruise or two, but the deer on the other hand was dead, and the car would be totaled.
On the wall in the garage hangs a picture of the totaled car, Eli standing next to it. A caption labels it
"Drive safely."
It was the first time they'd ever been in debt.
Remember when old ones died and new were born
And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged
She was 9 months pregnant when she'd received the call. That Tuesday night was forever burned into her mind. She received a call from her mother, something she always looked forward to. Only to find that it was to inform her that her father had died. The father that had left her after he'd cheated on her mother. The father that tore her family to pieces.
She hadn't talked to her father in years, not since he had told her that he didn't have room for her at his house. It would be uncomfortable for his fiance. The home wrecking whore. Eli had held her tightly while she'd cried.
The first time she ever felt completely, utterly, alone in this world.
A week later her daughter was born. The epitome of perfect. They went from being a married couple to being a family. She never thought this day would come, though Eli knew it would.
He thought about how long ago it had been that he'd realized he loved Clare. How he realized that she would be the woman everyone envied. The one with the adoring husband, the perfect child. He hadn't realized back then that he'd be the one to give this to her.
On top of her dresser sits a photograph of their tiny family on a hospital bed. Two beaming parents, and a tiny baby.
The first time she saw perfection.
We came together, fell apart
And broke each other's hearts
Remember when
Two years later, they had 3 children. Following their little angel, came a set of twins. One boy. One girl. The stress they felt had always been positive. Just enough to keep them going. Gradually it began to build, they began to pick fights, argue. One night it got to be too much. She'd been feeding the twins and he'd been eating dinner with their 2 year old. He had set the dishes on the counter and walked away. She had snapped.
After several hours of screaming at eachother, he'd packed a suitcase and stormed to the front door. A little girl following behind him, begging him to "Please not go". He'd shaken her off, slammed the door shut, and left. A week later he'd received the divorce papers.
The first time she ever felt betrayed.
Remember when the sound of little feet
was the music
We danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give it up
Remember when
Every Wednesday she dropped them off at his apartment. Very few words were said between the two, but they were civil for the sake of their children. It went on like this for a year or so. One day however, on the way to drop the kids off at his apartment, there was an accident. A driver ran a red light, colliding with their car.
He'd gotten the call and his heart had almost stopped. Driving as fast as he could, he made it to the hospital within minutes. Clare sat in a plastic waiting chair, face buried in her hands, while the twins slept soundly in their carriers. As he approached her, he saw the tears in her eyes. The apologies that flowed from her mouth were consistent. She apologized for everything, he graciously accepted, returned them. He was the man to fulfill her dreams, not destroy them. As it turned out, nobody was hurt. The driver that had run the light had been sent to prison for several months, and everything in the Goldsworthy household returned the way it should have been.
Over the bed in their room, hangs a photo of their happy family. All of them smiling, both parents filled with love and adoration.
The first time she vowed never to give up what they had.Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now lookn' back it's just a steppin' stone
To where we are,
Where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when
As they watched their children pile into the car and head off to Degrassi, she couldn't help but smile. Even on the days she wanted to tape their mouths shut and hang them by their toes, she loved them. Both she and Eli had raised beautiful intelligent human beings.
"Would you do It over?" she questioned looking up at her husband. He thought for a moment, before a smirk drifted to his face.
"Not a single thing."
On the fireplace sits three photographs of their family. One for each cap and gown. The two proud parents are grinning at the camera, while their graduate has excitement and pride in their eyes.
The first time she felt no regrets.
Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
"Is that the last of it?" he questioned raising an eyebrow at his daughter. They'd spent the last two days packing up her most prized possessions into cardboard boxes and loading them into the back of the minivan.
"I think so. Thank you Daddy," she called from the house. Slamming the hatch down, he drifted back towards the house. Not much had changed over the years. Animals had come and gone, everyone had grown older, but the house itself never changed. The knicks in the door frame, the carvings in the tree outside, the red stain on the white carpet in the living room. Anyone could point out these flaws, but to their family it didn't matter. The knicks told of how tall their children had been on each of their birthdays. The carvings told of every boy that Eli had approved of, and allowed to date his daughters. The red stain, was from the glass of wine that had spilled at a party their son had thrown behind their backs. He'd been grounded for weeks.
The children had grown up, and both he and Clare had aged. But the memories stayed the same.
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when
She'll tell you the stories behind the smiles, the memories made that day. Each photo depicts an important moment in her life. Each photo led to who she is today.
So what did you think? Review? Also. I am thinking about doing something like a U stream on twitter…but not. I will pick a date, and let you all know about it. That day you'll be allowed to tweet me questions about myself, my stories, my life. Etc. You could post them on my facebook page as well. I'll get back to you guys soon if this is something you would like to do. K?
Love Always,
Bumblebee93