Chapter Three - April 16, 1976 - 9:35am

Steve parked his car at a pull-off spot near the base of the mountain. He zeroed in with his eye and his heart skipped a beat. He ran faster than he ever had in his life to reach Jaime, stopping about ten yards away to move in slowly. Jaime was standing on the exact spot where her parents' car had plummeted off the mountain - on the other side of the guardrail, teetering slightly as she peered over the edge. Steve hesitated. If she was startled or frightened, tragedy would be almost inevitable. He decided to move in close, speak to her softly and then help her back over the guardrail. She was deep in thought and didn't hear him approach. As he got closer, Steve saw she had flowers in her hand.

At precisely the same instant that Steve reached the guardrail, Jaime tossed the flowers over the edge. The momentum from that very small motion caused her to lose her precarious footing and she began to fall. In one sure, steady move, as though he were tackling a quarterback, Steve dove toward her while keeping his feet firmly planted on the edge. He wrapped his arms tightly around Jaime's body and pivoted 180 degrees, depositing her safely on the other side of the guardrail.

He was about to blast her with ' What the hell were you thinking?' when he got a close look at her face. Her eyes were wide with shock, and he watched her face turn pale as the reality of what had nearly happened began to sink in. He held his arm out to her and she leaned into him just as she had at 16.

"Steve...I...how...thank you."

"Shh-hh-h. It's ok, Sweetheart. You're alright - that's all that matters."

Steve took her back to the carriage house, made some coffee, and they sat down to talk. Jaime told him that, unable to sleep, she'd gone to the cemetery around 3am and just sat on the grass between the two graves, remembering. On her way out, she'd found a patch of her mother's favorite wildflowers growing by the gate. She'd left some on the graves and decided to pick a few more and take them up to the cliff.

"And when I got there," Jaime told him, "I just started -"

"Remembering?"

"Yeah."

"When I first saw you there, it almost looked like you were gonna jump."

Jaime hung her head. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to feel closer to them."

A lightbulb went on in Steve's head. "You know what I think? You need to make some new memories for April 16th - happier ones. You can still remember your parents, of course. You always will, but it might be nice to remember with a smile."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Well...I thought maybe we could build a treehouse."

"Huh?"

"Like you had when we were kids. Might be fun to build a new one."

Jaime smiled and took Steve's hand. "Lead on, my love." The grieving 16-year-old and the college man who loved her looked on in approval from the distant past as the present day couple created new, happier things to look back on, the next time they chose to remember.

END