My Uncle's Best Friend

"I can only hope she is, sweetie," I replied.

Wanda gave birth to our two daughters within a couple of years of each other. And then we agreed that two was enough. I didn't feel it necessary to keep trying for a son. It would have been nice, but by the time she'd given birth to our youngest, a sweet little girl we christened Cindy, she was forty and I knew any subsequent pregnancy would be difficult.

I once again had that sense that my life was idyllic. I won't say our marriage was perfect. No marriage is. But like my marriage with Julia, any arguments or disagreements we had were relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, and the only things that genuinely mattered were our love for each other, our friends and our families.

We made a real team raising our two girls. They adored their mother, and they were daddy's little girls. There was nothing better than arriving home after a day at work to be greeted by the three women I loved most of all.

Wanda had long accepted that I visited their graves every year on their birthdays, and she had been accompanying me for years by now. This was the first year that we had taken our girls. They were aware that their father had been married before and had a child. I had shown them photos of them both, explaining they had an older sister that they would unfortunately never meet. They were now old enough to understand and were understandably sad.

Arriving home a little later, Wanda always gave me a little space, giving me time to just think. I'd long gotten past the grief, but she understood that it was always a difficult day. My thoughts were eventually broken when I felt two little girls hugging me to either side, Wanda walking around to cuddle me, her head resting against my chest.

"You okay, honey?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. It gets easier with every passing year. As I've always said, the one thing I know is that she would have definitely approved of my darling wife. And she'd be delighted to know that we have two wonderful little girls of our own."

"Will we go again next year, Daddy?" Cindy asked, "Can we pick out the flowers next time?"

"Yes, we'll go. And you can pick out the flowers, sweetie."

Leaning down to give each of them a kiss, they giggled before hurrying away inside to go and play, leaving me alone with Wanda, who snuggled into me again.

"I'm glad they understand," she said.

"Me too. I was worried they might be a little too young, but they're smart girls. God help us when they're older. They're going to be breaking hearts and solving all the world's problems at the same time. Taking after their mother in one way, at least."

"Once the girls are in bed, want to cuddle with your wife?"

"Always. Certainly made plenty of wonderful memories with you." I paused and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Thank you for today. Having you there has always made it a little easier."

"I can only imagine how it must have felt. But I love you and will always stand by your side."

Hugging her a little tighter, I felt her shuffle to get comfortable. I felt a smile start to form as I now consider myself an incredibly lucky man. Some people don't even get one great love of their life. I'd been fortunate enough to have two.

*****

A/N - Last of the 'Best Friends' series for now. The next few stories will be about the best friend's something - sister, mother, cousin... wife?