Fifteen years to the day of Spencer Shay's death, his family went to the cemetery to honor him. It had become a ritual as Freddie, Carly, and Sam went every year. "I can't wait to talk to Daddy again," Beth Shay commented. She couldn't remember her father, only being five months old when he died, but Beth still loved him.
Sam smiled at Beth. Her daughter was an artist like Spencer –A painter, not a sculptor, however. "He'll really appreciate it," Sam assured her. Mattew- in his first year of college –was meeting everyone at the cemetery later. Sam couldn't wait to see her son.
"I still miss him so much," Carly Benson said. Freddie nodded at his wife. He also missed Spencer, and today was the day to remember him.
"We all miss him," Freddie replied. He still remembered the day Spencer died with perfect clarity, although Carly didn't. She had repressed a few hours of time because of the trauma of Spencer's death. Those missing few hours still bothered her, but Carly had learned to let it go.
"Is your mom coming again?" Sam questioned. Marissa Benson had most it most years, but not all of them. Besides, there were more grandchildren to take care of now than there had been fifteen years ago.
Freddie and Carly both nodded. "Mom's making sure that the kids have stuff to do before leaving," he explained. The youngest Benson kids were staying with a baby-sitter, but the oldest –Eleven year old Spencer Shay Benson- was coming to the cemetery to honor his namesake's memory for the first time. Eight year old Aurora, six year old Isabelle, and three year old Tristan had heard about their uncle, but weren't allowed to visit the cemetery for another few years.
"They're going to be really busy because your mom's craaazy," Sam sing-songed. She really appreciated Marissa Benson for all that she had done after Spencer had died, but she sometimes had moments where she went a little nuts.
"Grandma's not that crazy," Beth protested. She loved her grandma. Beth thought she was amazing. Besides her mother, Marissa was the only one allowed to get away with calling her Elizabeth. Her uncle Freddie sometimes called her Liz, though. And Aunt Carly called her Ellie a lot. Although Beth was her main nickname, hardly anyone ever stuck to it.
"True," Freddie agreed. He missed Spencer so much sometimes. He and Carly sometimes had days where they didn't do anything but cry for him.
"So, what are you and Jack going to do later?" Carly asked Sam. Jack was Sam's second husband, a man she had met five years after Spencer's death. She had been a little hesistant to start dating again, but Marissa and Carly had finally persuaded her. Sam and Jack had married three years later. Fourteen months later, Sam had given birth to a daughter named Lola Jacqueline Brarston.
Two years after Lola's birth, Sam and Jack welcomed another daughter named Alexandra Rachel Brarston. Alexandra was the couple's final child, as Sam was forty-two at the time of her birth. Right now, six year old Lola and four year old Alexandra were eating out with their father. Marissa couldn't handle so many kids at once, because they tended to get the best of their grandmother.
Sam smiled. "Jack wants to watch the wedding video with me. He doesn't care that it's my wedding to Spencer," she explained. Sam loved Jack so much for letting her still grieve for Spence.
"Are we going to watch it too?" questioned a hopeful Beth. She loved watching her parents' wedding video. They had had a weird wedding, but it had seemed like such a fun event.
"Of course you can," Sam replied. She, Mattie, Beth, and Jack would probably watch after Lola and Alexandra went to bed. Both girls heard about Spencer all the time, but they didn't need to see her wedding to a man that wasn't their father.
"Can we stop talking about weddings now?" Spencer Benson asked. He hated hearing about stupid weddings. They were for annoying girls.
Carly laughed at her son. "Yes, we'll stop talking about weddings. Don't make me break out our wedding video, little man." She couldn't believe how much Spencer acted like his late uncle sometimes. He really lived up to his name.
"Don't!" Spencer cried. He didn't want to watch that again. His mom popped in the DVD when she was feeling all nostalgic or whatever. It got annoying. She used to do it all the time during her pregnancy with Tristan, since she had been on bedrest for the last three months.
Freddie stifled a laugh. He understood his son's aversion to watching their wedding. Carly had forced him to watch it with her so many times during her pregnancy with Tristan. Actually, they had all watched it at one point with her then. "Spencer, be nice to your mom."
"Sorry," he apologized. He couldn't wait to talk to his uncle either. He really loved his uncle, despite never meeting the man.
"Do you think Socko will visit later?" Carly figured he would. Her brother's best friend usually visited Sam, Matthew, and Elizazbeth about once every six months and supplied them with socks that didn't match.
Sam nodded. "He will. Socko knows how important today is. I would be surprised if he didn't show up." Sam loved the socks that Socko left her. After Spencer's funeral and the fiasco with Brian Shay, he had given her socks that said "In Memory of Spencer Shay, Coolest Guy Ever."
"Dad and Uncle Socko were pretty close," Matt remembered. Despite the fact that he had been three upon his father's death, he still remembered him a little bit.
"Hey, Spence," Carly said as the group finally got to Spencer's headstone. His death still affected her so much. She sometimes wish that he hadn't died.
"We love you, Baby," Sam told the headstone. She knew that Spencer would be happy that she had moved on with her life. He would like Jack and their two little girls.
"We miss you a lot, Spence," said Freddie. Life without Spencer was hard, but the three friends had made it through. It was so hard to believe that it had been fifteen years since that horrible car accident.
A lot had changed in fifteen years, mostly for the better. Everyone still missed Spencer, but they knew that he was happy wherever he was. They had moved on. Life had gone on, even though it had been extremely hard during the first few years.
Spencer's death had taught them the hard way about loss, but the loss had made them stronger. Everything was going great in their lives at this point in time.