I had intended to post this story yesterday, however after rereading it I felt it was a little too depressing for Independence Day, so Happy Fifth!
“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. Her 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? Well played sir, well played indeed.
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
the new plan brought you happiness.”
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 too easy of a pick. I now 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 appreciate
the meaning behind the words.
