Promises Made and Promises Kept Pt. 05

I looked over to my left at Judy, and I saw her talking to Jon. Her hand was on his gravestone, as mine was on Bonnie's marker. I knew that, as much as she loved me, she wanted to be with Jon afterward. I turned back to look at Bonnie's gravestone, not looking at the headstone next to hers on the right. As long as I don't acknowledge its existence, I won't cry. I talked to Bonnie, telling her what's been going on in my life since the last time I had been here.

I stayed there until Judy came up behind me. She knew why I wouldn't look, so she took my elbow and stood me up. Taking me in her arms, she said, "You know you have to look, my love. It's not going to disappear."

We turned as one and stopped in front of the gravestone. Judy let go of me and stepped back, allowing me to kneel before the marker with the name Matthew Hanratty on it. I teared up and started sobbing as I reached out and touched the cold granite that stood as a testament to a beautiful man's life ending much too soon. The American flag with the Bronze Star medallion on the pole next to the gravestone gave testimony to Matthew's service to his country. My fingers trailed over the dates, August 1976 -- July 2002, as the memory of how proud he had been in being commissioned in the US Army went through my head. He had just pinned on his Captain bars a week before his convoy was ambushed in Afghanistan. His HMMWV took the mortar shell center mass, and only a few parts of the vehicle, and the people in it, were found afterward.

I read the verse carved into his gravestone, from the song 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen:

I did my best, it wasn't much

I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the Lord of Song

With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

As I wept, my mind went to that day when I came as close as possible to knowing how Grace had felt when Bonnie had died. I was just coming out of the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Since I was expecting company, I went to the door and threw it open. When I saw the two uniformed officers standing there, the one by the door asking, "Mrs. Hanratty?" as the one directly facing me slowly raised his right hand to salute me, my world crashed down around me. I sank to my knees, screaming, "Noooo ...," as I realized what had happened. Thank God Judy was there because I had totally lost it.

As bad as that had been, telling Grace that Matthew was dead nearly killed me. The look on her face when I told her broke my already damaged heart. She was never the same after that, and I believe she died inside that day. If it hadn't been for Kathy and Mark, I think she would have just lain down and died.

I said goodbye to Matthew, promising to see him one day, as Judy came up and said, "It's time to move on, dear."

I stood up and took Judy's hand in mine as we walked over to two adjacent gravestones. As they had lived their lives together, they had died together. They had been together for 70 of their 88 years on earth. Grace had been born two hours before Kathy, and she had died two hours before Kathy. Kathy had been in so much pain that last year, but she had refused to let go. Grace was nearly blind from macular degeneration. Kathy was going to be there for Grace, no matter what. In my heart of hearts, I believe Grace willed herself dead so Kathy would be able to let go and escape the horrible pain she was suffering. When the nurse found them that morning, Grace was in Kathy's bed, spooned up against her, and they had died holding hands.

We walked over to a new gravestone that had just been installed last fall. Judy's father, Joe, was buried there now. He had died of a heart attack. I had loved him as I had my own father, and losing him was nearly as hard for me as it was for Judy. Betty is living with us now. We've put her up in the mother-in-law suite in our home we bought when we had down-sized after all of the kids had moved out.

Finally, our visit was done, and we were free to go. As we got in our car to leave the cemetery, I thought about Alex. Alex had finally found her love, and they would soon be celebrating their twenty-second anniversary together. When same-sex marriage was made legal in Massachusetts in 2004, they got married. They have been getting together with us for a week in Gatlinburg every year since they got together in 1998. We always rent the same chalet up in the mountains just outside Gatlinburg. It had survived the great fire in 2016, the fire coming within a half-mile of the chalet before the winds shifted and blew it away. We will be meeting them again this year despite the pandemic.

As we pulled into the driveway, we spied the cars that were already there. Judy and I looked at each other, big smiles on our faces. The rest of our family was already here to help Judy celebrate her birthday.

After Matthew's death, Mark and Amy were thrown together in grief and fell in love and married. They have gifted us with three beautiful grandchildren. Mark had seen his dream of becoming a lawyer come true. Amy had ended up also going into law while swimming her way through college. They are both partners in their law firm now.

Emily was here, too. She had actually tried out for the 2000 Olympic woman's swim team. Emily went on to get her MBA and is now a CPA in a major firm in San Francisco. She is happily married to Shari, a beautiful woman and a CPA like Emily. The two of them are planning to open their own CPA business soon.

Judy and I got out of our car, held hands, and walked into the house, anxious to be with our family.

***

To quote Winston Churchill: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." There is one more chapter in Virginia's story to read since one more promise needs to be kept. This is explored in the story 'What Dreams May Come,' which can be found in the 'Non-Erotic' category. You should go and read it now.

I still have to write 'No More Perfect Kisses' and 'Lady of the Lamp' before the arc is completed. Also, Alex's story, 'Like Butter on a Summer Day' is complete. This story picks up from the end of 'Tomorrow is Promised Pt. 02.' As I've said before, there's plenty of tales I can still write in the "Virginiaverse" (and I will). Still, I intend to branch out and see if I can write one or two stories outside the "Virginiaverse."

I do want to hear from you. As a writer, I love getting comments about the stories I write (even critical ones). I'm also open to suggestions for other tales in the "Virginiaverse" as plenty can be written about the parts of the main characters' lives not covered yet. There are minor characters mentioned that can have their lives explored if there is any interest in them. For instance, Maonaigh had expressed an interest in a follow-up to 'The Gift,' which is now published. It is titled 'A Chance Encounter.'