Leaving the past
My sentence is 'Sam and Phil attend a wake.'
Sam and Phil stood outside a large house on the outskirts of London.
"Thanks for coming with me today Sam, it means a lot."
"It's ok Phil, I've told you."
"But still, you didn't even like Cindy…" He trailed off.
"Are you ready to go in?" She asked softly.
"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be."
"Come on then." She took his hand and led him up the gravel driveway and knocked on the door.
They waited a few seconds until they heard the lock click and the door swung open.
"Phillip, I didn't expect to see you here."
"I was married to her, it's only right that I pay my respects."
"Well seeing as you missed the funeral I didn't think you'd come." The woman said opening the door for them to pass.
"Mrs Johnson." Sam acknowledged her with a nod of the head.
"And who might you be?"
"Samantha." She held her hand out politely, which the woman declined to shake.
"Eileen." There was a hard edge to her voice.
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
"And you knew Cindy?"
"Yes, through Phil."
"I see. Come inside both of you, Phillip you know where the living room is." Phil guided Sam gently round to the right and into a crowded room. They walked over to the corner of the room, trying to avoid the stares.
"Ignore them." Sam whispered softly.
"I'm trying."
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
"I've just seen Phil"
"Yes I know." Eileen said. "He's here with his latest bit of skirt."
"Doesn't seem his normal type."
"No, but appearances can be deceiving."
"She seems nice enough."
"We'll see." She looked over to where Sam was rubbing Phil's arm softly.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
"Are you ok?" She asked.
"Not really. I thought I would be fine about it, but I'm not, I didn't expect to act like this. You really don't need this."
"Phil you're my boyfriend and she was your wife."
"Ex-wife."
"Still, I want to be here for you, it's understandable that you're upset."
"No, I'm fine now." He saw Eileen looking over. "Come here." He pulled her into a soft kiss.
"What was that for?"
"Because I love you and because I can."
"Well it's sweet, but we're at a wake, it's not exactly the time."
"I don't care."
"Come on let's sit down, Eileen looks like she wants to say something." They sat down on the chairs laid out in the room.
As Eileen began to talk about precious moments in her daughter's life, Sam saw from the corner of her eye a tear slip from Phil's.
"Are you ok?" She grasped his hand gently.
"Yeah I'm fine. I think we should go." He got up and Sam followed.
"So what's really wrong?"
"I don't know. I thought I was over her, I am over her, but we were together for so long, and we kept breaking up and getting back together, I thought we were meant to be, but they're all acting like the breakdown of our marriage was my fault. I tried to make it work, but it just didn't." He cried.
"Hey, I get it, you loved her."
"No. I had feelings for her, sure, I cared about her, but I never loved her. It's time to say goodbye. She's my past, I'll always have the memories, but you're my future."
"That's sweet Phil. I love you too, do you want to go back inside?"
"No I came, I said goodbye, it's time to move on, and now I can do that. With you."
Phil kissed Sam gently, knowing he'd made the right choice in coming. She smiled and took his hand as they walked back to the car, both knowing it wasn't really goodbye, but for now they could put the past behind them and be happy, that's probably what Cindy would have wanted.
Review? Sam xxx