Homer was buried five days after he died, and many of his friends and colleagues came to visit him. His father Abraham, Moe, Barney, Lenny, Carl, Patty, Selma, Marge's mother, Ned Flanders, Chief Wiggum, Dr. Hibbert, Seymour Skinner, Apu, and many others that Homer was acquainted with. Marge was very surprised that so many people attended, and they didn't even have enough chairs for everyone to sit down in.

Lisa read a lovely poem that she made up during the five days prior and didn't even cry until she finished her last sentence. Reverend Lovejoy delivered the sermon, and Bart had asked Groundskeeper Willie to play "Amazing Grace" with his bagpipes. It was a very nice funeral and everyone told Marge that she was very brave for all the things she had gone through. But even words could not help her feel better.

A month passed and Marge still found herself crying as she made breakfast and dinner. And every night she would cry herself to sleep. The kids didn't do well either, Lisa was usually hiding in her room, crying on her pillow or playing soft tunes with her saxophone. Bart was always quiet; usually he would just sit on the sofa watching TV or would go over to Millhouse's for a few hours. Even though he did hang out with friends, he still came home looking glum as if he was expecting Homer to welcome him and to only find Marge making dinner.

On the third week during that month the kids had to go back to school, Marge was grateful that the summer finally ended for the children, she believed that the kids needed some time away from home to learn and hopefully forget about their problems. She wished she could do that, but there really was no reason to go out. She had all the food she needed and she didn't need any new clothes, it was just her alone at home with Maggie who would play without any sadness. It really was sad to see her youngest daughter go through life without her father and Marge wondered when Maggie would understand what death was. One day she would but not now.

It was early in the afternoon one day a week after the kids first week of school when Marge sat alone at the table looking through old pictures of her and Homer. Maggie had just been settled down to take a nap so there was really nothing else to do. She had not put her hair up for almost two weeks now; it just didn't seem to matter anymore, she rarely went out for anything save for food, and putting her hair all the way up just seemed pointless. She looked down at the pictures, such happy memories of days gone by, ones that would never happen again. There were many great pictures of Homer just acting like himself but there was one that made Marge stop short and stare at it for a long time. It was a picture of Homer, sharing a beer with their neighbor Ned Flanders, a rare sight to behold. That was when she soon had an idea.

Ned had lost Maude a little over two years ago, she had always wondered how he had coped without her and knew that if someone could help her out in the situation that she was in, Ned could probably do it.

She knew that Maggie would be okay for about two hours so she snuck out of the house and walked over to Ned's. She hoped that Ned would be off today and have someone else taking care of the Leftorium; he usually did that two days out of the week.

She rang the doorbell and to her surprise, Ned answered the door. When he saw Marge he gave a small concerned frown.

"Hey Marge, I haven't seen you since Homer passed. Is everything okay?" asked Ned.

Marge stared at Ned and gave a heavy sigh before responding. "Is it alright if I ask you about Maude and how you got over her." asked Marge.

"Of course it is, what are neighbors for? Come on in and I will make you some tea and we can talk all about it," said Ned.

Marge followed Ned into his house and he motioned for her to sit down on his dining room table. Marge quickly did so and waited as Ned set up the water and put it on the stove to warm it up. Ned then came into the room and sat across from her ready to listen.

"I must say Marge that I do like your hair down," said Ned.

"Thanks, I just haven't felt like putting it up, I first started doing it when I first met Homer," said Marge.

"Aww I guess it is hard to do your normal routine when the one by your side does not even complement what you do," said Ned. Marge just sighed back at him not really in the mood to discuss her hair. "But you wanted to know about Maude right?"

"Yes, I just want to know how you learned to cope without her. It's like every day I feel so empty inside. I keep waiting for him to come through the front door with a big smile on his face telling me how he went bowling and scored a perfect game, or that he punched Mr. Burns in the face," said Marge with a heavy sigh to keep herself from shedding any tears

Ned gave a short chuckle at the last statement and went over to a nearby drawer. He quickly took a small photo album out and set it in front of Marge.

"These are my most cherished memories of Maude and I, go ahead and take a look," said Ned.

Marge opened the first page to find a lovely picture of Ned and Maude on their wedding day. Maude was putting a piece of cake into Ned's mouth and both had the biggest smiles on their faces. Marge turned the next page to find a picture of them together on the beach and just below that was a Bible verse:

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love" Ephesians 4:2.

Marge turned to another page and found a picture of when Rod was born; Ned had his thumb sticking up while Maude looked exhausted but extremely happy to finally have a child in their life. There was another Bible passage underneath that one was well.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is the reward." Psalm 127:3.

Marge continued to turn the pages finding more pictures of Maude and Ned, they always looked so happy together and never sad, each picture on the bottom had a Bible verse to go with it and as Marge got farther along she began to shed tears, she knew what the last page was going have and even though it had been more than two years, she was not ready for it.

She reached the last page and there on that page was an obituary and a picture of the tombstone that had Maude's name on it and the day she was born and the day she died. Underneath the tombstone it read. "To a loving wife and mother, you will always be in our hearts." And of course just below that was another Bible verse

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Marge read the words out loud but could not finish it because her tears had fallen on the page and Marge did not want to ruin the special book Ned had made. Ned patted her hand and gave her a tissue before being summoned to the kitchen to get the tea.

"Would you like Raspberry tea or a special mint tea that helps the stomach when it's upset?" Ned asked in a soft and caring tone.

"The mint tea please," said Marge after she had blown her nose.

Ned soon returned with a small cup and a few special cookies next to it for Marge to enjoy. Marge quickly took a sip and then gave a heavy sigh as she felt the tea settling in her stomach. It really was a good tea for what was ailing her.

"This photo book was almost therapeutic, kind of like how John Grogan was when he wrote Marley and Me. Of course losing a spouse is not at all like losing a dog, your spouse can at least talk to you and tell you about your day. That's what I miss most about Maude," said Ned as he took a sip of tea.

"How long was it before you felt happiness again, I feel like I will never feel it especially when I look over at the other side of my bed and find it so empty and lonesome," said Marge.

"Well it was a few months, after a while you begin to tell yourself that crying is not going to change things and that you need to move on. You just got to remember the good times you had with him, sure they will make you cry when you think about it for a while but sooner or later they will be fun memories that you will never want to forget," said Ned.

Marge blew her nose again and took another tissue to wipe the tears that were falling like a dripping faucet, it was hard to see what Ned was talking about now, but sooner or later she hoped that what Ned was saying was the truth. She loved Homer but she didn't want to feel sorry for herself all the time.

"Another way of helping you get over it is to talk about it, begin with how it all started and then work your way to the day he passed on. Sure it's painful to think about but when you do tell it, you have someone there listening, ready to hug you and tell you it's alright," said Ned.

"You actually want me to tell you when we found out?" asked Marge as she blew her nose again, by now there were at least six tissues on the table top, more would be coming soon.

"If it's alright with you, if you don't want to do it right away that's fine. But I am always ready to listen and help you through it if you need me to," said Ned.

Marge stared down at her tea cup for a moment. Would she be able to tell him all about it or would her emotions get to her? It was probably best to try now rather than later. If she wanted to, she would stop eventually and Ned would understand.

"So you don't mind?" asked Marge, she really didn't want to put Ned up to this but he did seem determined.

"Well you did come to me, and I know it's God's way of saying that you need all the help you can get. So go ahead and tell me, stop whenever you feel like it," said Ned, his eyes showing his calm features.

Marge then gave a heavy sigh and quickly wiped the tears away ready to talk about it and hopefully without crying more than she had. Then she began.


A/N: Sorry I know it was short, but the next chapter is a bit longer so yeah that's my reason. I would like to thank all you wonderful reviewers out there; I wasn't expecting responses like that especially making you all cry. Don't worry I don't think my other chapters will be as sad as that one but you never know, or I may never know any way. And if Ned's verbal usage was wrong I apologize, I've seen him millions of times yet I don't know when it's the right time to say diddly. Well please review and I will have the next chapter up when I feel that it should be up.