Hey all, so I know I should have really posted this sooner. However I was confronted with an issue, I really wanted to write both endings. I wanted to let you choose which way it should turn out. I will say I think it's pretty good. So I am starting off with the bad ending because I want the good one to be a happy point and leave you guys walking away feeling good. I do hope you enjoy the story and I will await your wonderful reviews.
Dave sat in his car for what seemed like forever, he just couldn't think anymore. Time seemed frozen as his son, although adopted, was dead. Sure he didn't get the official word from the doctors that he had died but he knew Simon was gone. In his heart and soul he knew, he hated that he knew but in a way it was a blessing. He knew that Simon had a purpose and that in the end it was the best way to go, he died a hero and not coward. If nothing else Dave could be proud to say that he didn't raise a coward.
Dave heard his phone ringing, shaking him out of his trance. He looked at the number which wasn't anything he recognized; he answered the call and with a shaky voice and said, "Hello, this is Dave."
"Hi, Mr. Seville" The lady's voice on the other end asked and then paused. "Your son, Simon….(long pause) wasn't able to be saved. I am so sorry for your losses. He'll be down in the morgue. When you can please give us the information so we can send his body to the funeral home of your choosing." The lady on the phone said her voice cracking and making some sniffling sounds.
"Thanks, I'll get back with you." Dave said in a depressed and gloomy tone. His worst fears had been confirmed. "It's time to face the music." He thought and then shuddered as he remembered that his sons could sing.
Dave slowly opened the car door and wiped his tears that had been running down his face. He pulled out a handkerchief and did his best to remove all signs that he had been crying. He didn't know how he was going to tell his remaining sons that Simon was gone. He pushed the thought aside and began making his way to where Simon used to be, he wanted to settle the matter of where Simon was to be placed.
As he entered the waiting room he saw Jeanette sitting in a chair devastated by the news. She was crying her eyes out, she was shaking a bit and her hair was messed up. Dave wasn't sure what to do; he had just experienced the worst thing a father should never have to. He had to burry his own son, something no parent should have to do especially considering how young he was. He had such big plans and was full of dreams that would have radically changed the world.
Dave mustered up the courage to go and face the young lady and to try and console her, maybe in a way they would both heal. Dave sat down next to her and gently wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Unexpectedly Jeanette wrapped her arms around Dave and placed her head on his shoulders and continued to cry. Poor Dave didn't know what to do; he was taken completely by surprise. He gently patted her back slowly. They stayed like that for good long time.
Jeanette finally stopped crying and released Dave from the tight embrace and looked up at him. "Thanks." She said meekly. Her face was very red and stained with streaks where tears had fallen and her nose was a little runny.
"Thank you, I needed that." Dave said in sad tone. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a napkin so Jeanette could wipe her tears and blow her nose. "I was wondering if you would like to come to the funeral?" Dave said struggling to finish the last word as it caught in his throat.
"I would be honored. Thank you." Jeanette smiled a little as she felt warmth and comfort from Dave. It was as if she had gained a second family. Her little smile quickly faded and was replaced by a gloomy sad look.
"Well here's a card with my phone number and address. If you need anything please don't think twice about calling. My son gave his life because he knew you were worth saving." Dave said handing out a business card to Jeanette.
"Thanks. I will." With that Jeanette went over to her family and they left for their home.
Dave on the other hand went over to the desk and back to the task of dealing with his late son's final arrangements. He gave them the information needed to send the body to the funeral home and then he made a call to the funeral home. He was getting everything taken care of as soon as he could to make it a smooth and less painless effort. He figured it was better to get it over with while he still had some sense of his numbed mind in functioning order.
Dave still hadn't told Alvin or Theodore what had happened to Simon. All they knew was that Simon was in the hospital and that they needed Dave to go over there and fill out some paper work. Well at least that's what Dave told them. He didn't want to involve them anymore then had too. Dave was having second thoughts about that decision though; he was feeling guilty because they weren't able to make peace with Simon before he died.
But Dave also didn't want them to see him in his poor condition; he wanted them to remember Simon healthy, strong and as his normal self. Dave was so sucked into thought and arranging things that he didn't even realize he had driven home.
He sat in his car staring at the garage, the house, the side walk and remembering the good times. The times when Simon was telling Dave how to better invest their concert earnings and how to figure out a good mutual fund. Dave also remembered the time when Simon bailed Alvin out of trouble by proving that it wasn't his fault.
All those memories flooded Dave all at once and without warning he burst into a steady sob. He couldn't control the flood of tears running down his face, as he sobbed he breathed heavily making him hurt all over. His heart was broken and it felt as if his whole life had ended. Simon meant a lot to him, his sons where his life, he loved each and every one of them. It was a tragedy that Simon's bright and brilliant life had been snuffed out.
After a good fifteen to twenty minutes Dave was finally able to stop crying, he wiped his eyes and cleaned up his face. He pulled down the car visor and looked into the mirror and tried to put on a brave, strong and unflinching face for Alvin and Theodor but he just couldn't do it. He didn't know how he was going to break the news to them.
Without any further preparing he slowly opened the car door and got out of the car; shaking his head trying to remove flashbacks that were hitting him one after the other. He was reliving a lot of past events that were funny, they had all taken place in the front yard. Dave slowly made his way to the front door and was just about to knock on it when he caught himself. He was so overwhelmed in thought that he had lost track of the fact that he was at his own home.
Dave opened the door and peered in expecting to find a terrible mess which was more then likely going to be Alvin's doing. But to his surprise the house was clean and a strange silence had overcome the entire house. Dave walked in and closed the front door gently.
He walked to the living room and saw Alvin staring at a blank TV screen, his attention was focused on it but his mind was somewhere else. Dave shook his head, "Maybe he knows that I wasn't telling him the truth." Dave thought to himself. He then walked over to the kitchen area where he figured Theo would be. To his surprise Theodore wasn't cooking or eating; instead he was staring at an empty plate. No doubt he was worried about Simon and was beside himself.
Dave walked to the door leading to Simon's old lab; he pulled a key out of his pocket and inserted it into the door lock. He then turned it to lock the door; he then proceeded to put the key back into his pocket. He was thinking of what he should do with it. His first thought was to sling it under the door or throw it into the yard. But then he thought of a better idea, one which he thought his other two sons would agree with.
After he did that Dave went to the front door and acted as if he had just gotten home. He bellowed, "Boy's I'm home." But his voice wasn't as loud as he thought it was and his tone wasn't very cheerful.
A worried pair of teenagers came rather quickly to greet Dave but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the look on Dave's face. It was the face of pain and great burden. They knew right away something awful had taken place.
Dave cleared his throat and fumbled in his head for words, "How do you tell one's brothers that their brother is dead?" Dave thought to himself. "Guy's I have some news about Simon. I think it'll be best if we were all sitting in the living room." Dave said his voice cracking.
His words were interpreted by the sons as that of extreme tragedy; Dave never said that unless something unthinkable and very awful had taken place. Like the time when their cat had been run over.
They all sat down on the couch, Alvin on the left Dave in the middle and Theodore on the right. "Guy's you remember our cat right? And how his time with us was cut short?" Dave started off, his voice shaky and nervous. They both nodded. "Well, sadly Simon passed away a few hours ago. He died a hero saving a young lady's life from evil people." Dave rushed the last part trying to put it out as quickly as possible.
His two remaining sons looked at him strangely and as it sunk in their expressions began to change from question marks to utter gloom and doom. No one in the room said anything. Dave wrapped his arms around his sons and pulled them close together embracing them in a group hug. They stayed like that for a very long time.
Dave finally broke the silence, "You boy's don't have to go to school until after the funeral, you need time to recover from this horrid ordeal."
They both looked up at him and nodded; they were too stunned and shaken up to say anything. They both pulled out of the hug and made their way to their own rooms. They didn't come out or say anything until the next day. Dave had finished all the preparations that evening, made all the necessary phone calls and written all the letters that he had too.
Dave was still sad as were his two boys, it was a true tragedy that Simon's life had been taken away at such a young age. Dave slowly walked to his bedroom and went to sleep.
The next two day's were filled with final preparations, Simon's family picked out a splendid tux and found a few things that they felt he should have placed in his coffin. Some of the things included, the key to lab, several science books and a biography of Einstein(who Simon thought highly of).
On the day of the funeral Jeanette and her family were in attendance as well as everyone that had been invited by Dave. The funeral music was taps and several moving speeches were giving. Perhaps the most moving of which was Simon's last few minutes when he was a real hero and that they were there paying tribute to a hero in plain sight.
Jeanette cried almost throughout the entire service, it was hard for her to accept the fact that she was the one responsible for getting Simon killed and that she had to make up for it. She had to live for him and prove that she was worthy of his great sacrifice. But that was a huge, heavy burden that she had to bare and she was already struggling with it.
A few months after Simon's funeral Jeanette sat on her bed side looking down at her hands holding some very odd objects, in one hand she held a bottle of very powerful pain killers and the other was a glass of water. She was trying to build up the nerve to end her life. She couldn't take the burden of living for someone else, not to mention that she had fallen in love with Simon. Even though she never really got to know him, all he stood for and his compassionate heart told her all she needed to know.
She took a gulp of water and was just about to take some of the pills, when suddenly there was a blast of cold air and a force knocking the pills to the ground. Then Simon's figure appeared in front of her. In complete shock and amazement she spewed water out of her mouth. There was a moment of dead silence.
Simon looked at her and she looked at Simon, Jeanette felt her cheeks burning a deep red as she knew she had been caught, but Simon's look was that of sadness and not that of scorn.
"Pity, you had so much potential." Simon said slowly shaking his head.
"I….I'm sorry!" Jeanette mumbled.
"Jeanette, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be for you. I can't tell you what to do; all I can do is hope that you don't let your life end like this. As bad as it seems there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, there's always something worth living for. I know I certainly did, you were also worth dying for." Simon said calmly.
"If that was true then why did you have to die?! You were the only guy who cared enough to come to my rescue! In the brief time that I met you I fell in love with you. How am I supposed to go on knowing that I will never get to be with the one I love?" Jeanette said in an almost begging and pleading manner.
"Life still goes on, I'm still here." Simon touched the spot where Jeanette's heart would be. "I'll always be there. Nothing can pull me away from there. Think about your family and how much they would hurt if you took your own life. My family is still hurting and I didn't take my own life." Simon said stating facts.
"Yeah I guess so. I am glad that you came to stop me."
"I didn't come to stop you, merely to let you know that all is not lost. There's an afterlife and when you cross over we will be together forever and ever." Simon said his voice growing faint and his image slowly vanishing.
"Don't go!" Jeanette begged.
"I'm sorry, but it's time to go back. Just remember I love you too." His image vanished and his words "I love you too" were heard in the room.
Jeanette threw the bottle on the ground and set the glass of water on the night stand, she had lost the desire to kill herself. In its place was a burning desire to write a song, so she quickly rushed to her desk and began writing a song.
A few months later Jeanette was on stage with her sisters, Brittany and Eleanor walked to the back of the stage. The lights dimmed and soft music began to play, Jeanette began to sing in a slow quiet voice and slowly increased her voice. She was singing the song that she had written after Simon had visited her. It was a tribute to him.
www. youtube watch?v=PKS5DwSC0fo add dot com / and remove spaces
My Heart Will Go On -By- Celine Dion
Every night in my dreams
I see you. I feel you.
That is how I know you go on.
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on.
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never go till we're one
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
There is some love that will not
go away
You're here, there's nothing I fear,
And I know that my heart will go on
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
As the song progresses we see different stages of Jeanette's life, Brittany getting married, Eleanor getting married, her sisters having kids. Jeanette still hanging on to the love that she felt for Simon, she is champion to help prevent rape and counsels those who were.
The scene fades and Jeanette is 60 years old and dying of heart failure, but the doctors can't find anything wrong with her physically. She has lost the will to live; her sisters are with her in her little house. Jeanette knows it's the end as well as her sisters.
"I love you guys so much, but I just can't go on anymore. It's time for me to be with my one true love." Jeanette said with a little sadness.
"We know." Eleanor said.
"I wish my love was that strong; I wish you wouldn't go Jeanette." Brittany said.
Jeanette took a look around the room and as she took her last breath she saw Simon waiting to escort her to the other side. He looked the same as the day he saved her, only he was showered in a bright white light. She smiled and then closed her eyes and just like that crossed over. Simon and Jeanette made themselves visible to Eleanor and Brittany to let them know that all was well, and then they vanished and began a forever love and friendship.