Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 21:52:31 -0400
From: Barry Gold <barry.gold69@gmail.com>
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