This story was written by a friend of mine who was too embarrassed to post it herself. I managed to talk her into letting me post it under my name. If you have good comments and liked it, please pass your reviews along--she needs all the encouragement you can give her, and I need some help in getting her to post more of her work.
Second Chances
The morning sun shown brightly, lighting the small copse of trees and the cold stones that sat beneath them, warming everything in its path. A soft breeze drifted lazily through the leaves, at times making the smaller branches sway under its gust. Birds circled about the air, playing tag with one another, their songs filling the sky, reminding all the other creatures of the joy of spring. The colorful pedals of wild flowers, upon which a sat a few butterflies, flashed their gay colors about, added life to the seemingly quiet and destitute area. The green blanket of the tall grasses, in desperate need of a mowing, swayed and bowed before the onslaught of the occasional bluster of wind. Squirrels, and other creatures of nature's abundance, scurried about, enjoying the warmth and beauty of the April morn. Bright sunlight reflected sharply off the occasional car that passed along the road that wound around the small knot of a hill.
At the peak two figures stood, side by side, like silent statues, staring down at the words etched on a marble surface. Sarah Larabee and Adam Larabee were the two names, whose black letters stood out starkly against the rose colored stone. Chris and Kaitlyn stood by the graves of Chris's first wife and son, completely silent, both lost in their own thoughts. Kate eye's followed the path of the ribbon that encircled the names, of what had been the two most important people in Chris's life, in the form of a heart. Her chest tightened at the remembered loss of her own mother and father and tears filled her eyes, as her heart constricted even tighter in empathy with the man who stood stiffly beside her. Her gaze shifted upwards to the small angel that sat atop the gravestone, forever guarding the precious memories left behind.
Chris reached up playing with the wedding band that rested on his finger; with a final nod he began to pull it off, to place it in the proffered palm of the smiling little angel. He paused, feeling Kate's hand on his, stopping him. He glanced over into her eyes, his gaze filled with the puzzlement by her action, knowing he needed her to understand he was finally ready to say goodbye and to move on with their relationship. Kate reached up, cupping Chris's face in her hands, before answering his unasked question. "I'm not here to replace her Chris, she and Adam must, and always will, hold a place in your heart, they were your family, just as my family will always hold a piece of my heart. We're here to share are lives with one another, not completely control one another's lives. I love you for who you are Chris, and I don't expect you to change for me, only to remain the good man that I've come to know." Leaning up she kissed him lightly on the lips. Smiling in sudden and grateful understanding, he squeezed her hand and turned to leave the grave.
Kate stopped a moment longer, turning back to Sarah and Adam's gravestone, she whispered, "Thank you for sharing him," as a single tear trailed down her check. Suddenly a strong blast of wind rustled through the tree overhanging the grave, softly caressing her cheeks, tugging at the small strands of hair about her face. Chris froze and looked back at Kate in fear, but she turned to him, and smiling, took his hand. Walking off toward Chris's truck, hands clasped, they leaned slightly against one another. Behind them a small blue bird alighted on one of the lower hanging branches of the tree, calling out to the morning in a beautiful chorus. In front of the grave appeared the shimmering image of a tall red-haired woman and a little blond boy, who ran into her arms, only to be picked up and swung about in the air. The now empty copse was filled with the sound of the small boy's giggles, along with the delighted laughter of his mother, as the image wavered, and then disappeared.