The day of the funeral
The streets were lined with mourners, all there to pay their respects to the late Dr Jill Weatherill. She was well known in Aidensfield; the only female Doctor at 'The Royal.' She was known for her compassion and her love for her well forged career. It was clear that she would be deeply missed and that there would always be a piece of Aidensfield missing without her around. The one person that stood up for the 'working woman' was gone.
Gordon followed the solid oak coffin into the church, accompanied by Tom and Katie by his side and Jonathon in his arms. Following them were hundreds of mourners. The amount of people was truly astonishing and meant there was far too many for the Church to hold. Over half of them had to pile outside the door, but Gordon felt comforted that so many people felt the same way as he did.
Inside the Church there were family, friends and work colleagues. Gordon sat at the front with the three children, her parents and his mum; the coffin placed just feet away from them. There was a true sense of loss within the building, each person remembering Jill in their own way. Speeches from several people were read out, all of them outlining what Jill meant to them and stating the way she'd touched their lives.
Then it was Gordon's turn to pay his respects out loud. He stood up, handing Jonathon to his mother, and then walked slowly over to the altar; placing a hand on the coffin briefly.
'Funny isn't it? Not for one moment did I ever imagine I'd be standing here at my wife's funeral. I took it that she'd far outlive me and that in fact she'd be the one standing here doing this job, but I was wrong. I'm not an emotional man, not one to show my emotion to my friends and colleagues but this is an exception. You see, Jill was my wife. But not just my wife, my best friend and my soul mate. With her by my side I could face anything and know it would be okay.
Not only did she take on the job of becoming a mother figure for my two children she gave me the selfless gift of another child. And I know that Tom and Katie would agree that Jill treated them like her own and they loved her as if she was their mum. Jonathon will never get to know her; he'll never be able to make memories with her. She'll never see him take his first steps, or start school or get married and that truly hurts. And the reason she's lying here is because of me. Because she didn't know how I'd react to another child, and for that I'm so very sorry.
Jill, you'll always be my true love. And I'll talk about you regularly to the child and make sure your memory lives on. And until we meet again a part of me will always be missing. I will always love you Jill, that's one thing you can be absolutely certain of.'
And with that Gordon slowly walked away from the alter, back to his seat. As he'd spoken to the audience his voice had started to become thick with emotion, his eyes tearing and a lump forming in his throat. They were words spoken straight from the heart, and ones that people would remember forever.