Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 21:52:31 -0400 From: Barry Gold Subject: Moments In Life MOMENTS IN LIFE By Gold/Donal There are moments in people's lives that stand out in their memories; it's moments like these that either tear a person or couple apart or pull them even closer together. Lisa and Stephanie had everything going for them. They had been together for a little over 1 ½ years now and everything seemed very idyllic. All of their friends were very supportive of their relationship; Stephanie's friends (at least most of them) were all very close. She had one friend in particular, besides Lisa, who she was very close to. Her name was Michelle, and Stephanie had known her since they were 7 years old. Michelle was a little taller than Stephanie, had brown hair and brown eyes and had a 34B chest. Michelle lived around the corner from Stephanie and the two of them were always seen with each other; they told each other everything. When Stephanie came out to her friends, she told Michelle first and instead of being repulsed like she thought Michelle would, Michelle came over to her and hugged her. Stephanie had stepped back in surprise and saw something in her friends' eyes that really threw her for a loop; she saw love and support for her. Michelle had told her that she also had a crush on a girl at St. Francis, but did not know how to tell her. Stephanie wondered who the girl could be but held off about asking Michelle who it was. After all, being friends meant also keeping secrets for the other. When Stephanie introduced Lisa to Michelle, the two of them almost instantly became friends. It seemed that the three of them had quite a bit in common. It was a little after the Easter vacation and they had been back in school for about a week now. Stephanie was in homeroom talking to several of her friends waiting for Michelle to show up. She was getting a little worried about Michelle because she usually showed up in school before Stephanie did. She had not seen Michelle this past weekend because she and Lisa had spent the entire weekend together. Stephanie was talking to a couple of her friends when an announcement came over the PA system, "Attention all students. I have some very sad news to tell everyone about. It seems that one of our student's was hit by a car while walking to school this morning and did not survive. Her name was Michelle Adams. If there are any students that need counseling, please see your Homeroom teacher and she will excuse you. Thank you for your attention." Stephanie sat there stunned. She thought she had heard wrong, but when she saw her other friends crying, she knew it wasn't a dream. Stephanie could feel the tears flowing down her face and couldn't stop them. It seemed her world was crumbling and she started crying so hard that her whole body was shaking. She felt someone come over to her and wrap their arms around her. She barely registered that one of her other friends, Carmen, had come up and wrapped her arms around her shaking and crying also. Stephanie couldn't stop crying, "Why Carmen, why Michelle!" Carmen stood back with the tears just pouring down her face, "I don't know why Stephanie. I have no idea how it happened." Carmen came back toward Stephanie and wrapped her up in her arms. As the two girls stood there embracing, the teacher came up to the two of them, "Girls, why don't you get yourselves down to the counselor, okay?" Stephanie looked at the teacher with her now, very red eyes, "Thank you Ms. Colburn. We appreciate it." Stephanie and Carmen walked out of the door and down to the counselor's office. On the way down to the office, they were joined by her sister and Beth whose eyes were as red as hers. Sally looked into her sisters eyes and, seeing the pain that Stephanie was feeling, walked up to her and wrapped her arms around Stephanie. "Oh Stephanie, I'm so sorry about Michelle." Sally said as she started crying again. Sally could feel her sisters' arms tighten around her as she felt her shoulder get wet from Stephanie's tears. The two sisters just stood there with their arms around each other for another 10 minutes before they released each other. Sally and Stephanie backed off from each other. Sally walked over to stand by Beth and Stephanie watched them very closely. She watched as Beth wrapped her left arm around Sally's waist and saw tears coming down Beth's face. Beth looked over at her and Stephanie noticed real pain in those blue eyes of hers. Stephanie looked away from Beth and finally noticed that Carmen was sitting on the floor of the hallway with her head in her arms and her body still shaking from the crying that she was doing. "Come on Carmen; let's go down to the counselor." Stephanie said quietly to her as she extended her hand to help Carmen off of the floor of the hallway. As the four girls walked down to the counselor's office, Stephanie started talking to Carmen, "Carmen, I know why I'm crying so hard, but you only knew Michelle for about a year now. How come you feel so deeply about her?" Carmen looked at Stephanie with her big brown eyes and realized that Michelle had never mentioned that her and Michelle had crushes on each other but never acted on them. This coming weekend was to be the first time that she and Michelle were going out and that hopefully, something would happen between them. Now that would never happen. "Stephanie, didn't Michelle say anything to you about a crush that she had on a girl?" "Well, she did say something to me a few weeks ago about it, but I never asked who the girl was." As soon those words left Stephanie's mouth, she realized who the "other" girl was. She looked over at Carmen who had started crying again. "Oh Carmen, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that it was you that Michelle had a crush on. Were you two ever going to go out together?" Carmen looked at her with her red eyes, "Michelle and I were going out this weekend and I was to sleep over at her house. We were both hoping that something would happen. Both of us see how happy you are with Lisa and we were hoping that would happen to us." Stephanie looked at Carmen and saw how depressed she was. "Come on Carmen. We have to get down to the counselor's office." *** After the girls finished at the counselor's office, they were dismissed for the day. Beth came home with Sally and Stephanie but first they dropped off Carmen on the way home. Stephanie gave Carmen one last hug and watched as Carmen slowly went into her house. "I'm really worried about Carmen. She and Michelle were supposed to get together this coming weekend Sally." "You mean Michelle had a crush on Carmen? You had told me that Michelle had a crush on someone but you didn't know who." Stephanie looked over at her sister, "It was Carmen that she had the crush on, but I didn't know that until Carmen told me at school. I feel so sorry for Carmen. Sally, I'm really worried about her. She's so down and depressed and I don't know what to do because I feel the same way right now." "Stephanie, what you're going to need to do with Carmen, is to get her involved and get her out of her house as often as you can. You and Lisa are going to have to take her to dinner, movies, anything to take her mind off of Michelle." Beth told her seriously, with a sad look in her eyes. "I know Beth but, that's easier said than done; especially the way I'm feeling right now." "Well, let's wait and see what happens after we talk with our parents and after the funeral." Beth recommended. *** Sally had her key out as they approached the house. She inserted it into the lock, turned the knob and opened the front door. Evidently, no one was at home at this time of the afternoon. Their mother was still at work and their father was at a new client this afternoon, so the house was theirs for at least another couple of hours. "Sally, I've got to call my mother and let her know that I'm over here. I also need to tell her about Michelle." Beth said with tears in her eyes. "Go right ahead. You may want to ask your mother if you can eat dinner over here too." Sally said quietly. Beth walked over to the phone and dialed her number, "Hello Mom, I'm over at Sally's right now." Beth listened a little bit, "Yeah, I know I'm out of school a little early but there's a very good reason for it." She listened a little more, "Mom, Stephanie's friend Michelle, was hit by a car this morning and she didn't make it. Since the teacher knew that we were friends with her, she told us to go down to the counselor's office to have a talk with her. After that, she dismissed us and told us to go home." Beth listened a little more, "I'm doing okay Mom, but Stephanie isn't. She's really broken up over this and Sally figured we better stay with her. Can I eat dinner over here?" Beth looked over at Sally and nodded to her that her mother said yes. "Thanks Mom. I love you. Tell Dad I love him too.. I will call you later tonight." Beth hung up the phone resigning herself to a very long evening. Stephanie looked over at her sister and Beth, "Do you think Lisa would be home now or should I wait for later to call her?" "It's only 2:00 now Steph. Wait for another hour and Lisa should be home. Mom will not be home for another couple of hours, so maybe we should try to relax, maybe even call Michelle's mother and find out what's going to happen." "Okay Sally. I'm going up to my room to lay down for awhile. If Lisa should call before I call her, please come and get me." Stephanie said very quietly as she walked up to her room. *** After Stephanie had gone upstairs, Sally and Beth walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink and wait for Sally's mother to come home. "Beth, I'm really worried about my sister. I know Stephanie said that she's worried about Carmen but I also know my sister. I've never seen her like this before. I hope that Lisa will be able to help her." "Well, we just have to wait and see what happens Sally. Remember, Lisa was also friends with Michelle. Maybe not as close as Stephanie was but Lisa and Michelle were friends for that year and a half." "I know Beth, that's why I'm also worried about how Lisa may take this." Sally looked up at her girlfriend with her red eyes and noticed a tear coming down her beautiful face and moved toward her placing her arms around Beth's waist and laying her head against Beth's chest. "Oh Beth, please don't start crying again, I don't know if I can hold back myself." Sally and Beth just stood there for what seemed like forever but was really only about 15 minutes when the phone rang, startling them both, "Hello, this is Sally, can I help you?" "Hey Sally, this is Lisa. Is Stephanie around?" "Hi Lisa, how's everything going?" Lisa could hear a different tone in Sally's voice when she spoke with her. She sounded sad. "Sally, what's wrong? Has anything happened to Stephanie?" Sally looked hesitant before she spoke with Lisa, "Actually Lisa, it might be better if you came over here. Nothing's happened to Stephanie but I think she would appreciate it if you came over." "Please Sally. Tell me what happened?" "I would rather let Stephanie tell you herself, okay?" "Alright then. I'll be over in about 15 minutes." As soon as Sally got off of the phone, Stephanie came down the stairs. "Sally, was that Lisa on the phone?" Sally looked at her younger sister and saw the sadness in her eyes. She was hoping that having Lisa come over would help her. "Yes, that was Lisa. I asked her to come over Stephanie. You don't mind do you?" "As a matter of fact, I'm glad you asked her because I would have." Stephanie answered quietly. While Stephanie was waiting for Lisa to come over, she started thinking about how she was going to tell her what happened. Sally saw her sister struggling with the decision, "Stephanie, just take Lisa upstairs when she comes in and tell her." Stephanie looked at her sister sadly, "I guess that's the best way to let her know. Beating around the bush would only make it worse. Thanks sis." Stephanie walked over to her sister and gave her a hug. "You know Sally, all those times that we argued and yelled at each other over those petty, stupid arguments, just don't seem important anymore. I was upstairs reflecting about how short life could be and all I thought about was what would happen if you or I got into an accident and didn't survive. I would be heart broken if anything happened to you and I couldn't tell you how I felt about you. I love you sis." Sally was kind of taken aback by this demonstration of love from her sister but could see her point. "You know Stephanie, I never thought of it that way and you're right. I don't know what I would do without you. I love you too." Sally just hugged her sister tighter. While they were hugging, Beth was watching them and wished that she had a sibling that she could share her life with. The sisters broke apart and Sally looked over at Beth, smiled as best she could and walked over to her and hugged her just as tightly as she hugged her sister. While Beth and Sally were hugging, there was a knock on the front door. "I guess that will be Lisa. How do I look Sally?" "Like shit!" "Thanks a lot. Let me go let Lisa in and take her upstairs." Stephanie padded over to the front door, turned the knob and opened the door. Lisa stood there waiting and as soon as she saw Stephanie, she knew there was something wrong. Lisa entered the house, looked over at Sally and Beth and definitely felt something was wrong. "Lisa, let's go up to my room. I have something that I need to tell you." Stephanie grabbed Lisa's hand and led her up to her room. Beth and Sally were in the dining room drinking some Diet Pepsi and talking about school, friends and family when they heard a loud wracking scream come from Stephanie's room. They looked at each other and started crying again because they knew Stephanie had just told Lisa about Michelle. *** Stephanie had just told Lisa what had happened to Michelle and thought she was prepared for anything. What she didn't expect happened; Lisa just screamed and fell down on Stephanie's bed sobbing so bad that her whole body shook. Stephanie came over to Lisa, gathered her up in her arms and started stroking her hair. "Lisa, everything will be alright. Baby, I'm here, just hold on." Stephanie felt Lisa's arms tighten around her as she felt the floodgates to her own eyes open again. The two girls just sat there sobbing, holding on to each other like their lives depended on it. *** Beth and Sally had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when Sally's mother walked in the door. As soon as Judy looked at the two girls, she knew something was wrong. "Girls, you need to tell me what happened right now. I see that your eyes are red and have probably been crying quite a while now." Sally and Beth just looked at her, sniffed, came forward and wrapped both sets of arms around her. Judy was very concerned now. She had not seen or heard Stephanie at all and was really worried now, "Sally, has something happened to your sister that I should know about?" Sally looked up at her, sniffling, "No Mom. Nothing happened to Stephanie or Lisa. Sit down Mom. We have some bad news to tell you. We were in school this morning when an announcement came over the PA system. It was the Principal informing us that an accident had occurred to a student on the way to school. The student was hit by a car and died. Mom, the person that got killed was Michelle." Judy sat there stunned. She had known Michelle and her family for years. She was one of Stephanie's best friends next to Lisa. She looked over at her daughter and Beth and started crying herself. Judy tried to get control over herself but it didn't do any good. She found herself in her daughters' and Beth's arms crying with them. The crying finally died down and Judy, Sally and Beth were all sitting on the couch sniffing and drying their eyes. "Sally, `sniff' where's your sister? I haven't heard or seen her." She asked very concerned about her younger daughter. As soon as the words left her mouth, Stephanie and Lisa walked down the stairs, still holding on to each other like their lives depended on it. Stephanie looked at her mother and knew that Sally had told her about Michelle. But when Judy looked at Lisa, she couldn't believe her eyes; Lisa looked worn out like she had been crying all day herself. Stephanie and Lisa both walked toward Judy and Judy opened her arms as the two young girls came into her waiting arms. "Stephanie, I'm sorry about Michelle." "Mom, I'm really happy to see you right now but I wish it was under better circumstances. When the announcement came over the public address system at work, we were all stunned. But the big surprise came from Carmen." Stephanie's mother looked flabbergasted, "Why was Carmen surprised honey?" Stephanie looked at her mother sadly, "Mom, her and Michelle were going to go out for their first date this coming weekend. Carmen and Michelle had crushes on each other and they were hoping that something would happen like what happened with Lisa and me." "Oh, Stephanie, I'm so sorry for Carmen. I know she must feel very depressed right now. How was she when she walked home with you?" "Mom, she was so down. I'm really worried about her. I just hope that she doesn't do anything stupid." Stephanie said with a worried look. The phone started ringing startling all of the ladies in the room. Judy went over to the phone to pick it up, "Hello, this is the Krieger residence. Can I help you?" "Hey sweetheart is everything okay. You sound depressed." Judy held her hand over the receiver, "Girls, it's your father. Should I tell him now or wait till he comes home?" Sally looked at her mother, "I think you should wait till he gets home mom. I don't think we want him to rush home and possibly get into an accident." "You're right Sally." Judy took her hand off of the receiver, "Honey, are you on your way home?" "Yes I am. Please tell me what's wrong." "I will tell you when you get here but not before. And don't worry, it's not the girls." "I'll be home in about 30 minutes then. I love you sweetheart." "I love you too. Just hurry." Judy hung up the phone with a heavy heart. "Your father is on his way home girls. Beth, Lisa, do your parents know that you are over here." "I called my mom after I got here and told her what happened." Beth said Lisa added, "I told my parents I was coming over but at the time I called, I didn't have a clue what happened." "Maybe you should call your parents and tell them, Okay honey?" Lisa looked at Judy with tear stained eyes, "Okay, Mrs. Krieger." Judy watched Lisa as she called her parents. She couldn't hear all of the conversation, but she knew what was happening over the phone by the tears coming down Lisa's face as she talked with her mother. Judy watched as Stephanie walked over to Lisa and place her arms around her waist from the back. Lisa leaned into Stephanie as she finished her conversation with her mom. Lisa turned in Stephanie's arms, looked into her eyes and started crying again. Lisa laid her head on Stephanie's shoulder and just hugged her very tightly. At this point Judy was hoping that the girls would be able to make it through the night without totally losing it. *** It was about 40 minutes later that Eugene walked through the front door of the house. He was greeted by Judy coming out of the kitchen where the rest of the girls were sitting. She brought Eugene into the living room. "Honey please sit down. I have something that I need to tell you about." Judy said to him very quietly. "What is it sweetheart? You look very depressed." Judy had to take a deep breath before she started. "Honey, there was a very bad incident today and it affected the girls very deeply." She took one more look into her husband's eyes before she started, "Sweetheart, Stephanie's friend Michelle was hit and killed by a car today. Eugene sat there stunned. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Michelle and Stephanie had known each other since they were 7 years old. He could feel his tears start flowing down his cheeks and then felt his wife pull him into an embrace. After a few minutes of crying, Eugene pulled away from his wife to ask questions that were on his mind. "Judy, where are the girls and are they okay?" "Don't worry about them. They are currently in the kitchen having something to drink and talking among themselves. I need to call Michelle's mother and find out about the services." "Okay. I'm going into the kitchen to check on the girls." Eugene said with a heavy heart. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw his daughters closer than usual to their girlfriends, which was good. "Hello ladies. Your mother just told me what happened today. I'm sorry about Michelle, Stephanie." "Thanks dad. I miss her already and it's only been one day." Stephanie said. Eugene was about to say something else when Judy came back in. "I have some news to tell everyone. It seems that the funeral will be this coming Sunday at 1:00. Carol also told me that if people wanted to, they could come back to their house. They are going to have a layout of food for everyone that does come over. Girls, do you want to go over after the funeral?" Sally looked over at her sister, Beth and Lisa and spoke for everyone. "Yes Mom. We do want to go over to the house and talk with Michelle's mom." "Well, now that that's been decided, is anyone hungry enough for some dinner? If no one wants to cook, we can always order something." Since everyone was hungry but no one wanted to cook that night, it seemed that Pizza was the overwhelming favorite for dinner that night. Judy ordered the pizza as the girls waited in their rooms. *** Dinner was a quiet affair; every now and then, one of the girls would mention what they did in school this week and one of the other girls would nod their head but other than that, there was not much talk during dinner. After dinner, the girls volunteered to clean up but Judy was having none of that. She chased the girls up their rooms all the while worrying about her youngest. *** As Stephanie led Lisa into her bedroom, she felt that she just had to let everything out or she would burst. The next thing she knew, Lisa was holding her very tightly, caressing her back and hair and whispering to her. Stephanie's body was shaking so bad that Lisa thought she would collapse any moment but she held her as tightly as possible. "Stephanie, I'm here for you baby. Just let it all out." And with that one statement, Stephanie let the floodgates open. *** Eugene and Judy were downstairs cleaning up the kitchen and discussing the girls when they heard Stephanie. They placed everything down and rushed up the stairs. When they opened Stephanie's door to her room, they found her in Lisa's arms shaking so badly that they both thought she was having a seizure. They looked into Lisa's eyes and the look she had, spoke volumes. They backed out of the room closing the door behind them very quietly. *** Lisa moved them both over to the bed to sit down. Stephanie was still crying very badly and was holding on to Lisa for dear life. Lisa maneuvered them both so that they were lying on the bed facing each other, and holding each other very tightly. Lisa kept on stroking Stephanie very lightly, whispering words of love into her ear. Stephanie's crying finally died down and after about 10 minutes, Lisa could feel her breathing change as Stephanie fell asleep in her arms. Lisa wished she could take away the pain but she knew that was impossible. The only thing she knew she could do for Stephanie was to make sure that Stephanie knew how much she loved her. Lisa knew she could do that without any reservations and with that knowledge tucked away, Lisa fell asleep with Stephanie wrapped safely in her arms. *** The sun was shining through the window waking Stephanie with a start. She wondered where she was but then realized she was wrapped up in Lisa's arms and knew she was in her room. They must have fallen asleep with their clothes on because she felt dirty. As she laid her head back down, her thoughts started swimming around in her head. As she thought of Michelle and what would happen in her life with her gone, she then started thinking how lucky she was to have a friend and especially a girlfriend like Lisa. She thought of how much she loved Lisa and how much a part of her life was intertwined with Lisa's now. Lisa's arms were still around her and Stephanie tightened her arms that much more around Lisa. She loved this girl with so much passion that it frightened her, but it also made her realize how comforting Lisa's arms were and she knew that Lisa would never leave her. With that thought in mind, Stephanie fell asleep once more. Another couple of hours had gone by and this time Lisa woke up. As her eyes slowly opened, she realized that Stephanie was still wrapped up in her arms. Lisa sighed and finally realized that Stephanie was the one for her. It didn't matter that they were only teenagers; she loved this girl like no other. It was a little over a year and a half ago that they told each other the same thing that she was thinking right now. It was amazing just how everything came together when she looked into Stephanie's eyes that day she walked into their house. She felt her breath get caught in her throat, her mouth went dry and realized that something had happened to her when she looked at Stephanie. And then when they shook hands, well, that was another thing entirely. She had never felt anything like that before; it felt like an electric shock going through her entire body. She knew right then and there, that Stephanie and she would be together the rest of their lives. She looked at Stephanie and saw that her eyes were now open and staring back at her. "Good morning. How are you feeling today?" Lisa asked her very quietly. Before answering Lisa, Stephanie drew her closer and placed a very light kiss on her lips. "Now you know how I'm feeling. I love you Lisa. I love you so much, that it scares me sometimes. But I just had to tell you that because we never know what's going to happen to us on a day to day basis." Lisa looked at Stephanie, smiled and kissed her very tenderly. "What do you want to do? Take a shower first or go and eat breakfast first?" Stephanie hesitated only a second, "Let's go take a shower first." They unwrapped their arms and legs from each other and proceeded to undress before going into the bathroom. Stephanie walked over to the shower and started the water running so that when they stepped in, it wouldn't shock their systems. Stephanie stepped in first followed by Lisa. Instead of making love in the shower like normal, they just soaped each other up and rinsed themselves off. Although they did kiss quite a bit while they toweled each other off, they didn't take a lot of time doing it. After dressing themselves, they made their way downstairs to the dining room where they found Sally, Beth and her parents eating breakfast. "Good morning girls. And how are you two feeling today?" Judy asked them quietly. "Actually mom, I think we're both feeling better than yesterday but we're both still sad about yesterday." Stephanie said sadly. `Well, the both of you look a lot better than last night. Why don't you grab some breakfast, sit down and relax." Eugene mentioned. As the girls ate their breakfast in silence, Judy and Eugene looked a little more hopeful at the girls at the breakfast table. They knew what was in store for them tomorrow but they were hoping that today would be better than yesterday. Eugene looked up from his plate of pancakes, "Well ladies. What are your plans for today?" Beth looked up from her plate at Sally's parents and spoke first. "Well, I thought Sally could come home with me for a little while, while I did some of my chores. After that, it's up in the air." "Is that okay with you Mom?", Sally asked hopefully. Judy glanced over at her husband who nodded his head. "Sure sweetheart. As a matter of fact, if you want to, you can sleep over at Beth's also. Now, how about you and Lisa, honey?" "I need to call my parents to see what's happening today, first. Can I use your phone?" Lisa asked. "Go right ahead sweetie." Judy told her. As Lisa was dialing her house, Stephanie walked over to her mom and dad. "Mom, if Lisa's parents let me sleep over there tonight, can I?" "We don't see a problem with it Stephanie. We just need to make sure that you girls are back here early enough to dress for the funeral tomorrow. Okay?" "No problem mom. How does 11:00 sound?" "That's good sweetheart. Your father and I will see you then. Please just relax and try to have a good time with Lisa, okay?" "I'll try mom. Lisa and I were thinking of going over to see how Carmen was coming along. I'll call you later and let you know." Stephanie said. Lisa had just gotten off of the phone and was walking back toward them. "Mrs. Krieger, my mother said nothing is really going on today, with the exception of my chores. Oh yeah, my mother also asked if Stephanie could sleep over tonight?" Stephanie's mom just smiled at Lisa, "Actually Lisa, I've already talked to Stephanie and told her that if your mom said it was okay, she could sleep over. Just remember, you girls have to be back here by 11:00am so Stephanie can dress for the funeral." "I don't see a problem with that Mrs. Krieger. Actually, when we leave here, we are going to go see Carmen and see how she's doing." "I guess that would be a very good idea. Now, why don't you all finish your breakfast before you leave for the day?" "Sounds like a good idea mom." Sally quipped. *** After they finished their breakfast, the girls cleared the table, wiped it down and placed the dishes in the dishwasher. Sally and Beth still had to take a shower before they left but since Lisa and Stephanie had already taken one they went upstairs to make sure Stephanie had her toiletries to take over to Lisa's. As Lisa and Stephanie came down the stairs, they saw Judy and Eugene talking in the living room. As the girls approached them, Judy stood up. "Girls, please let me know how Carmen is doing. If you need any help, please call us and let us know, okay?" Stephanie looked at her mother and smiled as best she could, "Thanks Mom, I appreciate it. I love you both." With that, Stephanie and Lisa both threw their arms around both parents. *** Stephanie and Lisa were walking along talking to each other about the events from yesterday and decided to ask Carmen to sleep over Lisa's with them. They were hoping that Carmen would say yes to the sleepover. As they approached Carmen's house both girls were starting to get a little nervous. Stephanie walked up to the door first and rang the bell. She heard someone walking up to the door and then as the door knob turned and the door opened, Carmen herself was standing in the doorway. Stephanie gasped after seeing Carmen. Carmen's eyes were so red, that it seemed she had been crying non-stop for the last week. Carmen looked into Stephanie's eyes and a little smile came over her lips. "Hi Stephanie. What brings the two of you over here?" "Well, Lisa and I were wondering if you wanted to come over to Lisa's and have a sleepover with the two of us?" Stephanie hopefully asked. Carmen looked at the two of them and finally remembered her manners. "I'm sorry. Please come on in." As the two girls walked into the house, they were greeted by Carmen's mother, Barbara. "Hello girls. It's nice to see you both. I'm glad you came over. Carmen isn't doing too well." "Actually, one of the reasons we came over was to invite her over to my house for the evening. That is if it was okay with you Mrs. Santiago. My mother said it would be okay." Lisa told her. "Lisa, I think that would be a wonderful idea. Just so long as you had her back a little early tomorrow. We still have to get ready for the funeral." Mrs. Santiago said with some sadness. "Don't worry. We have to get back to Stephanie's by 11:00 am so she can get ready also, so we will stop by before that to drop Carmen off." Lisa said. "Carmen, why don't you go up and get your stuff together. I would like to talk to Lisa and Stephanie, Okay?" "Sure Mom. I'll be down in a few minutes." Lisa and Stephanie looked at each other unsure of what Carmen's mother wanted to talk to them about. They followed Carmen's mother down to the living room and watched her sit down but not before noticing that she had such a sad look on her face. "Girls, please sit down. I would like to talk to you about something if I could. When Carmen came home yesterday and told me about Michelle, I was a little shocked to say the least. Not just about her death but about my daughter having a crush on her." She looked over at Lisa and Stephanie, took a deep breath and continued. "I didn't realize that my daughter had feelings for another girl but when I saw how it affected her, I realized that she had actually fallen in love with Michelle. After thinking about it all night, I started to feel sorry for Carmen. She never even got the chance to let Michelle know about her true feelings for her and I suppose Michelle never had the chance to tell my daughter either. I think what I'm trying to tell you two, is that all I want is the best for my daughter, and if having her fall in love with another girl is what she wants, then I will go along with her on this. I've already talked with my husband on this, and he agrees with me. Just so long as Carmen is happy, we will both back her." Barbara finally finished and took a deep breath and just sat back looking at the two girls in front of her. Stephanie was the one who spoke first, "Mrs. Santiago, we appreciate you telling us this. We didn't know if Carmen had even told you about the crush she had on Michelle. Carmen, had told us that she was hoping that something would happen between them because she saw how happy Lisa and I have been over the last 1 ½ years together." "Well dear, now we will never know what would have happened between them. I'm hoping that she will eventually come to terms with this incident and move on with her life. I know it might take a long time but as a parent, you can only hope for the best for your child." Mrs. Santiago said sadly. Carmen had finished packing her stuff sometime ago and was in the process of walking down the stairs when she had heard her mother talking about her. She stood there listening to her mother and didn't realize that she never told her mother about Michelle or her lesbianism. But after listening to her mother speak; she realized that her mother was okay with it. As she walked down the final set of stairs, she looked over at her mother, walked over towards her and gave her a very big hug. "Thank you mom, I appreciate you and daddy believing in me." "Sweetheart, just so long as you're happy. That's all we ever want for you. Now, go on, get of here and have fun over at Lisa's tonight." With that, Lisa, Stephanie and Carmen walked out the door towards Lisa's house for a night (hopefully) of fun. *** Lisa, Stephanie and Carmen had a quiet evening. They had ordered pizza and had watched the "Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" movie that had just been released on DVD. Although they were amazed by the movie, their minds weren't really tuned in to it. They had other things on their mind. *** As Sunday dawned, it looked like it would be a very sunny day. It was a cloudless sky with spring like temperature's in the 60's. As they walked home, Lisa and Stephanie thought better of holding hands at this point because Carmen was with them. When they got to Carmen's house, all three girls looked at each other, and then came together in a group hug. They told Carmen that they would see her later and watched her as she walked into her house. As they approached Stephanie's house, Sally and Beth were just coming around the corner from Beth's house. All four girls just looked at each other and walked into the house quietly. Stephanie took Lisa upstairs while she got dressed for the funeral. "Lisa, I don't know if I can do this." Stephanie looked over at her girlfriend and started crying. Lisa brought Stephanie into her arms and just hugged her very tightly. "I know baby, I know. We have to though, for Michelle." Stephanie nodded and backed out of Lisa's embrace and finished getting ready. It was about 12:30 when all of the girls gathered downstairs waiting for Judy and Eugene. As the parents came down the stairs, they both looked at the girls sad faces and wondered if they would all make it through the services. "Alright ladies, let's get going." Eugene said. The drive to the cemetery was a quiet one. The only ones that did any semblance of talking were Judy and Eugene. They mentioned that Beth and Lisa's parents would meet them there and then go on to Michelle's parents' house after the services. *** When they arrived at the cemetery they were immediately struck by how many people were there. It looked like everyone in the community was there; almost the entire school population was there, the teachers, the principal, practically everyone they knew. After parking the vehicle, the girls got out and went to where their friends were waiting for them. It looked like the majority of them had been crying most of the day already and the services hadn't even started yet. Lisa and Stephanie were holding hands when Carmen stepped up beside them. Stephanie looked over at Carmen and placed her free arm around Carmen's waist giving her comfort. The pastor looked at all of the people gathered for the services and started. "We are here today to pay final respects to Michelle Adams. By the amount of people that are here today, it looks like that she was much respected and even loved within the community. From what her parents told me, she had plans to go on to college and become a doctor so she could help under privileged kids. This was a very worthwhile commitment from a young lady who had everything to look forward to in life. She had friends who looked up to her as a role model and even had a "special" friend that she was getting ready to get closer to." Upon hearing that, Carmen just broke down and cried. Stephanie held Carmen that much tighter and just let her cry. The Pastor continued, "Even though Michelle is gone, as long as you remember her in your hearts, she will never really be forgotten. Please think of her often and pray for her in your hearts." With that, everyone stood while the Pastor recited the Lords Prayer. After the services ended, everyone passed by Michelle's parents wishing them condolences. As Carmen and her parents passed by, Michelle's parents looked at Carmen and gave her a hug and told her anytime she wanted to come by, she was welcome. When Stephanie, Sally, Eugene and Judy passed by Michelle's parents, they took one look at each other and all six of them just broke down. They hugged each other and Judy and Eugene told them to come over often. After the funeral had ended, Stephanie, Sally, Beth and Lisa were standing around when their parents came up to them and asked if they wanted to go over Michelle's parent's house. Of course they all said yes. *** A couple of weeks after the funeral, Lisa and Stephanie were studying for some tests while over at Stephanie's. Lisa looked up from her books at her girlfriend and just stared at her. She started thinking what would happen if anything ever happened to Stephanie and realized that she wouldn't be able to live without her." Stephanie, I love you." Lisa said quietly but just enough so Stephanie could hear her. Stephanie looked up from her textbook that she was reading and smiled at Lisa, "I love you with all my heart Lisa. After what we went through with Michelle, I will never let you forget that I love you, ever." Stephanie pulled Lisa close and gave her a kiss that would define their relationship, now and forever. Any comments/recommendations would be welcome. Bgold49@myway.com Copyright 2006 Gold/Donal