While fresh out of college, Tommy Pickles and his friends happily held their college diplomas.
"Way to go, you guys. Should we go out and celebrate?" Stu Pickles asked.
"We are thinking of doing that alone, Dad," Dil told their father.
"You guys can go without me. I don't feel like celebrating," Tommy told his friends.
Tommy's best friend, Chuckie Finster, looked at their friends.
"Uh, guys, let Tommy go if he doesn't want to celebrate with us. I think he doesn't want to celebrate because his wife didn't graduate with us," Chuckie said.
Lil looked at Tommy.
"Is Chuckie right about Vicky, Tommy?" Lil asked.
Tommy nodded.
"I still feel sick after she died in that plane crash," Tommy said.
His older cousin, Angelica Pickles changed the subject.
"Give him a break, you guys. Tommy, just go celebrate with your dumb friends and forget about that plane crash," Angelica said.
"I can't forget about it, Angelica. Vicky was pregnant with our child," Tommy said as Angelica chewed gum loudly.
"Tommy, we planned to get married on the same day, remember? Your wife changed our plans and she died in the crash," Lil said.
"I wanted to marry and have kids on the same day too, Lil, but I guess-"
Tommy could not finish his own sentence. He felt tears coming. Every time this subject popped up, he felt sick.
"Mom, Dad, can we go? I don't want to celebrate," Tommy said in a weak voice.
"All right, Tommy. We'll celebrate another time," his mother Didi Pickles said.
As everybody had split up, Tommy with his parents while Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Dil and Angelica left to go out to celebrate. Angelica took the wheel while the others talked.
"Do you think Tommy will ever get over that plane crash?" Lil asked.
"Of course he will. I heard he's heading to Hollywood in a week or two," Angelica spoke up.
"Do you have any idea where you want to work with books, Chuckie? You're the one who has a library science degree," Phil pointed out.
"I don't know where I want to work, guys. Maybe I will go to Hollywood with Tommy and find a library job there. Tommy might need me," Chuckie said as the others nodded in agreement.
"We'll go with you guys, Chuckie," Lil said.
"Thanks, guys. Hollywood should be an interesting place," Chuckie said.
"Maybe Tommy will get to meet all those famous actors and actresses we watch on TV and the movies," Kimi said.
"He just might. With a job like that, you get to meet all sorts of famous people," Dil said.
Angelica paid no attention to what they were talking about since she had the radio to a rap station.
"This music is awful. How can she stand this kind of junk?" Phl asked, covering his ears.
Like Phil, everyone else covered their ears, since they could not stand the music. They could hear Angelica singing along. They sure did not like her singing either.
When Angelica was singing away, Chuckie and the others thought to the time Tommy's wife, Vicky died in the plane crash. This had been sometime one year ago Tommy found out Vicky was pregnant with their first child.
Flashback:
It was a cloudy Wednesday afternoon. Tommy had to drive Vicky to the airport since her flight to North Carolina did not start until five – fifteen. Tommy stayed at the airport until Vicky got on the plane and watched the plane take off. After he drove back to the college, hours later, Tommy got a telephone call from the airport telling him there had been a plane crash and his wife, Vicky had died. Tommy had said to the person who called him that they were expecting.
End Flashback
"I can't believe this has been over a year now and Tommy still hasn't gotten over the plane crash," Kimi said.
"I know. If I were Tommy, I'd be over the plane crash by now," Phil said.
"Me too," Lil agreed.
"It takes longer than that, guys," Chuckie said.
At his old house, Tommy did not bother doing anything. He just stayed in his bedroom, lay on his bed, and stared at the ceiling. He kept thinking about his wife and child he had lost one year ago. He thought about the (son?) daughter (?) that he would never get to meet. When Vicky died in the plane crash, she was already four months pregnant.
Ever since Vicky had died, Tommy had problems sleeping at night so he was now using sleeping pills to help him sleep better at night. Sometimes they did not help and sometimes they did not. Downstairs Didi asked Stu to check Tommy since it had been a while they saw Tommy when they brought him and the diploma home with them.
Stu knocked and peeked in. He found Tommy lying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Stu did not say anything to Tommy, so all he did was shut the door. Tommy did not care who came to his room and looked in on him. All he wanted was his wife and child back when he knew he would not.
When Stu returned to the kitchen, Didi asked, "How is Tommy?"
"He didn't look at me when I looked in on him. He was staring at the ceiling," Stu told her.