Luck of the Irish

Leah sighed contently as she rested against her bed. Carly pressed the stop button on her tape recorder, tears in her eyes and completely blown away.

"Wow." was all Carly could manage to say. Leah smiled and laughed at her. "Thank you for sharing such a deep story with me. I'm truly honored."

"You're welcome dear. You're great-grandfather saved my life; he truly gave me hope to look forward to. He was the only man I've ever loved and have ever been with. It's a shame that he remains only a memory. But in a way, I don't mind that, because I know he's watching over me, and your grandfather, and your father, and you. When someone's leaves you, you're never truly alone. They're always watching you, they're always with you."

Carly smiled a happy yet sad smile. She wished she knew her great-grandmother longer. There were so many things she could have learned from her.

"What other stories can you tell me?"

"I think you have enough for your project dear. I'm sure they don't want an old woman like me rambling on."

"Forget the project, I'm just curious!" Carly exclaimed. The two of them heard a door opening, and Carly's father calling her from a distance.

"Another day dear. Another day." Leah whispered. Carly quickly kissed her great-grandmothers cheek, gathered her supplies and dashed off.

As Carly went to greet her father, he smiled and clapped her on the back. "So, did you get what you needed for the project?"

Carly just beamed at her father, "I guess you can say that."

Later that night, however, the mood was not so happy. Shawn crept into Carly's room as she was hastily writing her paper with a big grin on her face.

"Sweetie, I need to talk to you." He said softly.

"Almost done dad, what's up?"

Shawn moved to turn Carly's computer chair away from her computer. He looked at her with sad eyes. "Darling, you're great-grandma passed away an hour ago."

Carly's jaw fell open. "What? How can that be? We just saw her a little while ago!"

"I'm sorry, dear, but she was very old. It was her time.

Carly simply nodded.

"They're going to hold a wake and a funeral in a few days," He said, leaving the spot on her bed. Carly quickly looked up at her dad, just as he was about to leave the room.

"Hey dad, can I read at the funeral?"

Shawn simply smiles, "I'm sure she'd want that."

As her father left the room, Carly let tears run down her cheeks. She couldn't believe she was gone, merely hours after hearing the most amazing story she had ever heard. She moved to stare at the essay she had written, and then hit play on her tape recorder.

Leah's voice cracked through the small speakers, "When someone's leaves you, you're never truly alone. They're always watching you, they're always with you."

Carly smiled and hit the stop button. Her great-grandmother was right. She wasn't alone. She would always be with her. She was never alone.

Carly quickly began to work on her eulogy for her great-grandmother, knowing exactly what she was going to say. She would mention how her great-grandmother was a true inspiration. She had conquered so much in her life, almost given up hope, found love, started over and basically continued their family by herself.

As her fingers quickly wrote down her words that she would share, her thoughts flickered to where her great-grandmother was resting now.

The once broken and decayed ship of the Titanic was now beautiful and rejuvenated. Leah, as her eighteen year old self wandered the deck, in her favorite frayed dress. Her fingers swept against the railing as she looked out at the calm ocean in front of her. She smiled as she felt a tapping on shoulder, and she turned to meet those familiar ocean eyes, the ones she had always seen in her dreams.

"What took ya so long?" Joked a thick Irish accent.

Leah swung her arms around Tommy's neck, happy to once again be in his embrace.

"So we meet again. I was just raising our family, and passing on our story." She whispered.

The winds gently swayed around them, as their lips met. They felt safe and secure in each others arms. Breaking the kiss, they turned to watch the sunrise, as they sailed together on the Ship of Dreams.