Niagara Falls
“I know it's clichéd and ironic to say this at a
funeral, but Nate really was always full of life.” Fabian says as he stands on the altar less
than two feet behind my casket, and if he's half as sad as I expect him to be,
he's hiding it expertly. I wonder if he
feels he needs to put on a strong facade for my mom. Is it selfish to hope it is actually a false
front and that he is genuinely upset at my death? Probably, but this is my funeral, screw
etiquette. What else does my frat
brother have to say?
“In college he was the de facto leader of our group,
even after we'd grown into our own separate lives he was the one to bring us
back. When we'd be out he was always the
center of attention, not because he was the most charming or funniest of us,
although now that I think about it he probably was, but simply because being
around him made everyone else feel better.
No one was allowed to be in a bad mood around Nate.” You always spoke so well in front of an
audience, but that's not entirely true Fabian, what I always said is if on any
day nothing goes as planned...
“He always said “If your day doesn't go as planned,
change the plan.” I don't think I truly understood what he meant until the day
he died.” I'll forgive you for
interrupting me this one time buddy... jokes aren't as funny when no one else
can hear them. “People always say 'live
each day to the fullest' but no one does, I won't even pretend that Nate did,
but what he did do was make the most with what he was given. He didn't come from a wealthy family, but his
parents instilled in him from a young age strong morals that carried with him
to his last day. These morals drove him
to exceed at every academic level, eventually leading him to succeed
professionally, although none of us ever understood what exactly it was he
did.” That wasn't funny people, stop
laughing. I am... was a National
Operation Manager overseeing the country wide vended business services for...
never mind. If you couldn't get it when
I was alive, no point in trying now.
“Nate was the first of us to meet our wives, even if he
was the last of us to actually get married.
He met Amber on a trip we took our senior year of college, and they
started dating almost immediately after.”
You old softy, you are sad. Why
else wouldn't you mention where the trip was to? “They might not have gotten married right
away, but everyone close to them knew that what Nate and Amber had was legit
and would last forever. Sadly, none of
us knew how short forever was. After
years of dating, two of my best friends tied the knot.” You hate that saying Fabian.
“Having dated for so long, and growing as close as any
couple could, they decided the only place they could get married was at the
same location they first met.” Again you're avoiding the location. Not saying the place doesn't make the events
any less real man. I'm sorry this hurts
so much, but I promise you'll be happy again, all of you here will. “While they waited so long to get married
they seemed to have rushed to have kids.
I'm sure if someone were to actually do the math, we'd see that their
daughter, Courtney, was born less than nine months from their wedding, but
we'll let them have that secret.”
Fabian chokes up at her name, his first real sign of
what he's dealing with internally.
“Forgive me if this sounds cruel, but Courtney's birth really was the
beginning of their problems. Understand,
I loved that girl as if she were my own...”
No one's blaming you man, no one's judging you. You're doing good, not
much more to tell. “She was an angel,
but she wasn't long for this world. I
don't know why, but she was taken from them, from all of us too soon. His health problems started before she was
even twelve months, and she passed on her second birthday. The unimaginable pain Amber and Nate must
have gone through was too much for Amber's body. She soon became sick, almost like her heart
couldn't go on without her angel and two short years later, on what would have
been Courtney's fourth birthday she left Nate also.”
This is it Fabian, you're almost at the end, stay strong
get through this and go home to your wife and kids, and love them like I never
had the chance to do. “Being Mr.
Sunshine, Nate tried to hide the pain he was in, but he couldn't fool any of
us, a complete stranger could have seen the pain he was in. For two years Nate put on the face of a man
who was content with his allotment in life.
What none of us knew, but we should have been able to guess is that he
decided to 'change the plan'. Exactly
two years after his wife's death, and four years after his daughter died Nate
took his life. The spot he first met
Amber, and where he shared his nuptials with her, will always be the placed he
jumped out of our lives, and I can't blame him.
No one should have gone through what he did, but you'll forgive me if I
never return there. Thank you, and
cheers.” You seriously snuck a beer onto
the altar? Good for you sir, I'll have
one ready for you when we see each other again, which hopefully won't be for
many, many years. “Here's to Nate I hope
you found your happiness again.”
I wrote this story nearly three times before I had this finished piece. The first two times were variations of people going over the falls in a barrel which seemed to easy of a pick. I know more about the first person to go over the falls than I’d care to, and attempted to create the first married couple to do so together, but again it all seemed like the easy way out. However, it wasn’t all for naught because it led to the story you just read.
While it is a rather depressing story, I feel at the core there’s a great lesson, and the main character said it beautifully, “If your day’s not going as planned, change the plan.” I was impressed with myself when I wrote that one, hope you were too, and see the meaning behind the words.
