Post by dragonfire13 on Feb 15, 2006 19:33:15 GMT -5
The Photo Album
“Mommy! Mommy, lookit what I found!”
Rose paused at the excited cry of her five-year-old son, Alex. She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs, and Alex immediately scrambled into her lap. “What have you got there, sweetie?”
“I dunno… I think it’s a book, but it’s all dusty.”
Alex sneezed as he pulled the book away from his chest, stirring dust. Rose’s eyes widened. “My old photo album,” she murmured.
“Mommy? Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Alex.” Rose gently leaned over her son, rubbing some of the dust off the worn brown leather cover. “It’s just been a really long time since Mommy saw this…”
“Can we look at it now? Please?”
“I don’t…”
“Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?” Alex gave her his best puppy-dog eye trick. Rose sighed, admitting defeat.
“Alright, Alex. Let’s have a look.”
Alex grinned before opening the book. He sneezed again as dust stirred from the pages and drifted into the air.
“Man, this thing’s really dusty! It must be old!”
Rose smiled a little as Alex flipped to the first page. Excitedly, he pointed at the first picture he saw; it was a picture of Rose and Jake, on their wedding day. She was laughing at him, he was smiling, and he was pushing a piece of cake into her mouth.
“Mommy, who’s that?”
--It wasn’t a fancy reception at all. Certainly not as fancy as the “wedding of the centaury”. Mostly it had just been family and close friends; family, of course, referring mostly to Jake’s family. Rose had no family; her uncle had died long ago, and she had abandoned the Huntsclan long before her uncle’s death. But Jake’s family had made it clear that they adored her, so in a way, her family was there, to.
Lao Shi, despite his aging body, had insisted on attending his grandson’s wedding. Fu Dog, ever faithful, sat watchfully next to him, pausing to give Jake and Rose a thumbs-u[ sign. Trixie was Rose’s maid of honor, and Spud was Jake’s best man. Mrs. Long had hired at least five different photographers; never mind the fact that she currently held a camera in her hands. The Long family grinned at the newlyweds from where they sat.
Jake had looked handsome that night. He couldn’t stop smiling, and his eyes sparkled. Rose would never forget that; it was the happiest day of her life. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, not even for a minute, afraid that if she did he would vanish and this would all just be a dream.
“Rose!”
She blinked, snapped out of her daydream to glance over at her husband. He was standing by the wedding cake, knife in hand.
“Rose, we’re gonna cut the cake!”
Rose smiled, beginning to walk over to him, slowing slightly when she saw the impatience in his eyes. Her smile widened into a mischievous grin, and finally Jake came over and led her to the cake. She laughed.
“What?”
“C’mon, girl, don’t do that! I’ve been waiting a long time for this!”
“Sure you have,” Rose said with a laugh, and Jake, grinning, took that moment to grab a piece of cake and push it into her mouth.
That was when Mrs. Long snapped a picture.—
Rose’s throat tightened painfully at the memory. “That’s your daddy, Alex.”
“Really?” Alex looked up at her, frowning in confusion. He looked back at the photo album. “Why isn’t he here?”
Rose swallowed. “He’s dead, sweetheart.”
“… Oh.” Alex blinked, then shrugged before turning the page. He looked up at Rose. “Is that Daddy again?”
“Yes.”
“What’s he doin’?”
The picture Alex had found was of Jake yet again. His hair was sticking out in all angles and he had the cutest pout on his face. He was crouched next to the red mustang, his baby before Alex had been born. Rose smiled at the memory.
“He was trying to fix the car.”
--“OW!”
Rose paused at the sound of her husband’s cry. They had been married for a year now. Shaking her head, smiling, she opened the garage door.
Jake gritted his teeth, sucking on his thumb before glaring at the mustang. Rose couldn’t help but laugh, fingering the camera that hung around her neck, a wedding gift from Mrs. Long.
“Jake, what on earth are you doing?”
He looked up at his wife, scowling. “It’s pathetic! I fight goblins and the Dark Dragon and who knows what else, and I can’t fix a stupid car!” Despite his love for mechanics, Jake lacked the ability to fix anything. Rose couldn’t help but smile; he was so cute when he was angry.
“Why don’t you just take it to the shop?”
“And put up with Brad calling me “the Jakester”? No, thanks!”
Rose laughed again before kneeling to give him a light kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, a small smile tugged on the corner of his lips.
“You really know how to make me feel better.”
“Down boy.”
Glancing back at the car, Jake pouted for a moment, and Rose, no longer able to resist the impulse, lifted her camera and took aim.—
“Well, he was trying to, anyway…”
Alex giggled, and Rose smiled. His eyes sparkled as he laughed, and she felt a brief pang; Alex had Jake’s eyes.
Alex frowned, laughter fading. “Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“What happened to Daddy?”
Rose bit her lip, and tears stung at the corner of her eyes.
--Alex was only three at the time. The hospital had called late at night, requesting Rose to come, and panicked she had all but begged Trixie and Spud to come watch her son. Only when she arrived at the hospital was she told what happened.
It was a drunk driver, they said. He had been coming around a bend, to buzzed to realize how fast he was going, and Jake hadn’t been able to get out of the way in time. He was in a coma right now. The doctors led her in to the room, leaving not long after, and Rose slowly sank onto a chair, taking Jake’s hand.
She wasn’t used to seeing Jake so still, even when he was asleep. He always seemed to be in some sort of motion. Tears blurred her vision, but she refused to release Jake’s hand to wipe them away.
“You have to wake up, Jake, alright? You have to. You still have me and Alex. You can’t just leave us now, alright? We need you bad.” A single tear streaked her cheek.
“I left the Huntsclan for you. You promised me you’d never leave me, remember? You promised,” she whispered. She lowered her head so her forehead was against his hand.
“You promised…”
One of the machines began to beep crazily, and she jerked back. Doctors flooded into the room as though they had materialized from thin air.
“What’s going on?” she cried, but they only shook their heads. At a silent gesture from one of the doctors, a nurse gently took Rose’s arm and led her out of the room, and Rose was too confused to fight her. A few minutes later, one of the doctors came out, and Rose went to meet him.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Long. There was a lot of internal bleeding… there was nothing we could do.”
Time seemed to freeze.
“There was nothing we could do,” the doctor repeated weakly, knowing all to well that those words wouldn’t comfort the twenty-three year old woman in front of him, who had lost the man she had loved with all her heart.—
Alex gently reached up, touching Rose’s cheek. “Mommy, you’re crying.”
Rose blinked, raising her hand, and realized her face was wet with tears. “Yeah, I am.”
“Why?”
“Well, Alex, I loved your father very much.” Rose wiped at her eyes. “It hurts to talk about him.”
Alex looked up at his mother, his black eyes unusually solemn. “Tell me more about Daddy. If it doesn’t hurt to much.”
“Well… I met your father when I was young.” Rose’s eyes misted over. “We always liked each other, although we were too young at the time to admit it.”
“But you both knew?”
“Yes. And that was what mattered in the end. I loved him so much, and when he died, it felt as though a part of me died with him.”
Alex nestled against his mother, trying to comfort her as best he could, but being too young to fully understand.
--It was raining that day. The whole world seemed to mourn the death of Jake Long, the American Dragon. But no one mourned more then the young wife he had left behind, and the son that would only know him through memories.
Rose held Alex close to her side, afraid to let him go. Afraid that if she did, even for a moment, she would lose him… just as she had lost Jake.
Everyone in the city was there. Trixie and Spud with their young daughter, Brooke. Jake’s mother and father, his mother crying softly, his father just looking at nothing. His sister, Haley, only seventeen, standing beside her boyfriend Jason, crying into his shoulder. Brad and his wife Courtney. Even the magical creatures had figured out a way to attend without being noticed; Rose recognized Jasmine the nix, Silver the mermaid, Bertha and Hobie, Hobie’s parents, Clooney the leprechaun, and Fang the brownie. All of the Dragon Council was there, as well as Fred Nerk, the Australian Dragon.
A few people drifted over to Rose, murmuring words of comfort or sorrow, but their words fell on deaf ears. Rose was beyond comfort; no one could imagine what she was going through. Glancing down at Alex, who gripped his mother’s pants, she subconsciously held him closer.
Alex was all she had left of Jake. Now she had to raise him… without Jake.
The little boy looked up at his mother, frightened by all the people and confused, and huddled against her leg.
Alex wouldn’t even remember his father. He wouldn’t remember how Jake had played with him, how much Jake had loved him. Gently Rose stroked his back. Tears misted her vision.
Alex would know. He would know that Jake had loved him.—
Alex looked up at his mother, and he had tears in his dark eyes.
“Why, Mommy? Why did Daddy have to die?”
Rose closed her eyes, pulling Alex closer. “I ask myself that question every day. I still don’t have an answer.”
“I wish Daddy was still there. I wish I could have known him.”
Rose’s eyes stung, and tears coursed down her cheeks, dampening Alex’s hair, leaving sparkling wet trails on her face.
“I wish he was still here to.”
The End
Yeah... not the feel good story of the year. Italics are flashbacks... I know I should be updating TDL, but I wanted to write this for some reason...
If you'll excuse me, I'll go cry now.
“Mommy! Mommy, lookit what I found!”
Rose paused at the excited cry of her five-year-old son, Alex. She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs, and Alex immediately scrambled into her lap. “What have you got there, sweetie?”
“I dunno… I think it’s a book, but it’s all dusty.”
Alex sneezed as he pulled the book away from his chest, stirring dust. Rose’s eyes widened. “My old photo album,” she murmured.
“Mommy? Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Alex.” Rose gently leaned over her son, rubbing some of the dust off the worn brown leather cover. “It’s just been a really long time since Mommy saw this…”
“Can we look at it now? Please?”
“I don’t…”
“Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?” Alex gave her his best puppy-dog eye trick. Rose sighed, admitting defeat.
“Alright, Alex. Let’s have a look.”
Alex grinned before opening the book. He sneezed again as dust stirred from the pages and drifted into the air.
“Man, this thing’s really dusty! It must be old!”
Rose smiled a little as Alex flipped to the first page. Excitedly, he pointed at the first picture he saw; it was a picture of Rose and Jake, on their wedding day. She was laughing at him, he was smiling, and he was pushing a piece of cake into her mouth.
“Mommy, who’s that?”
--It wasn’t a fancy reception at all. Certainly not as fancy as the “wedding of the centaury”. Mostly it had just been family and close friends; family, of course, referring mostly to Jake’s family. Rose had no family; her uncle had died long ago, and she had abandoned the Huntsclan long before her uncle’s death. But Jake’s family had made it clear that they adored her, so in a way, her family was there, to.
Lao Shi, despite his aging body, had insisted on attending his grandson’s wedding. Fu Dog, ever faithful, sat watchfully next to him, pausing to give Jake and Rose a thumbs-u[ sign. Trixie was Rose’s maid of honor, and Spud was Jake’s best man. Mrs. Long had hired at least five different photographers; never mind the fact that she currently held a camera in her hands. The Long family grinned at the newlyweds from where they sat.
Jake had looked handsome that night. He couldn’t stop smiling, and his eyes sparkled. Rose would never forget that; it was the happiest day of her life. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, not even for a minute, afraid that if she did he would vanish and this would all just be a dream.
“Rose!”
She blinked, snapped out of her daydream to glance over at her husband. He was standing by the wedding cake, knife in hand.
“Rose, we’re gonna cut the cake!”
Rose smiled, beginning to walk over to him, slowing slightly when she saw the impatience in his eyes. Her smile widened into a mischievous grin, and finally Jake came over and led her to the cake. She laughed.
“What?”
“C’mon, girl, don’t do that! I’ve been waiting a long time for this!”
“Sure you have,” Rose said with a laugh, and Jake, grinning, took that moment to grab a piece of cake and push it into her mouth.
That was when Mrs. Long snapped a picture.—
Rose’s throat tightened painfully at the memory. “That’s your daddy, Alex.”
“Really?” Alex looked up at her, frowning in confusion. He looked back at the photo album. “Why isn’t he here?”
Rose swallowed. “He’s dead, sweetheart.”
“… Oh.” Alex blinked, then shrugged before turning the page. He looked up at Rose. “Is that Daddy again?”
“Yes.”
“What’s he doin’?”
The picture Alex had found was of Jake yet again. His hair was sticking out in all angles and he had the cutest pout on his face. He was crouched next to the red mustang, his baby before Alex had been born. Rose smiled at the memory.
“He was trying to fix the car.”
--“OW!”
Rose paused at the sound of her husband’s cry. They had been married for a year now. Shaking her head, smiling, she opened the garage door.
Jake gritted his teeth, sucking on his thumb before glaring at the mustang. Rose couldn’t help but laugh, fingering the camera that hung around her neck, a wedding gift from Mrs. Long.
“Jake, what on earth are you doing?”
He looked up at his wife, scowling. “It’s pathetic! I fight goblins and the Dark Dragon and who knows what else, and I can’t fix a stupid car!” Despite his love for mechanics, Jake lacked the ability to fix anything. Rose couldn’t help but smile; he was so cute when he was angry.
“Why don’t you just take it to the shop?”
“And put up with Brad calling me “the Jakester”? No, thanks!”
Rose laughed again before kneeling to give him a light kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, a small smile tugged on the corner of his lips.
“You really know how to make me feel better.”
“Down boy.”
Glancing back at the car, Jake pouted for a moment, and Rose, no longer able to resist the impulse, lifted her camera and took aim.—
“Well, he was trying to, anyway…”
Alex giggled, and Rose smiled. His eyes sparkled as he laughed, and she felt a brief pang; Alex had Jake’s eyes.
Alex frowned, laughter fading. “Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“What happened to Daddy?”
Rose bit her lip, and tears stung at the corner of her eyes.
--Alex was only three at the time. The hospital had called late at night, requesting Rose to come, and panicked she had all but begged Trixie and Spud to come watch her son. Only when she arrived at the hospital was she told what happened.
It was a drunk driver, they said. He had been coming around a bend, to buzzed to realize how fast he was going, and Jake hadn’t been able to get out of the way in time. He was in a coma right now. The doctors led her in to the room, leaving not long after, and Rose slowly sank onto a chair, taking Jake’s hand.
She wasn’t used to seeing Jake so still, even when he was asleep. He always seemed to be in some sort of motion. Tears blurred her vision, but she refused to release Jake’s hand to wipe them away.
“You have to wake up, Jake, alright? You have to. You still have me and Alex. You can’t just leave us now, alright? We need you bad.” A single tear streaked her cheek.
“I left the Huntsclan for you. You promised me you’d never leave me, remember? You promised,” she whispered. She lowered her head so her forehead was against his hand.
“You promised…”
One of the machines began to beep crazily, and she jerked back. Doctors flooded into the room as though they had materialized from thin air.
“What’s going on?” she cried, but they only shook their heads. At a silent gesture from one of the doctors, a nurse gently took Rose’s arm and led her out of the room, and Rose was too confused to fight her. A few minutes later, one of the doctors came out, and Rose went to meet him.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Long. There was a lot of internal bleeding… there was nothing we could do.”
Time seemed to freeze.
“There was nothing we could do,” the doctor repeated weakly, knowing all to well that those words wouldn’t comfort the twenty-three year old woman in front of him, who had lost the man she had loved with all her heart.—
Alex gently reached up, touching Rose’s cheek. “Mommy, you’re crying.”
Rose blinked, raising her hand, and realized her face was wet with tears. “Yeah, I am.”
“Why?”
“Well, Alex, I loved your father very much.” Rose wiped at her eyes. “It hurts to talk about him.”
Alex looked up at his mother, his black eyes unusually solemn. “Tell me more about Daddy. If it doesn’t hurt to much.”
“Well… I met your father when I was young.” Rose’s eyes misted over. “We always liked each other, although we were too young at the time to admit it.”
“But you both knew?”
“Yes. And that was what mattered in the end. I loved him so much, and when he died, it felt as though a part of me died with him.”
Alex nestled against his mother, trying to comfort her as best he could, but being too young to fully understand.
--It was raining that day. The whole world seemed to mourn the death of Jake Long, the American Dragon. But no one mourned more then the young wife he had left behind, and the son that would only know him through memories.
Rose held Alex close to her side, afraid to let him go. Afraid that if she did, even for a moment, she would lose him… just as she had lost Jake.
Everyone in the city was there. Trixie and Spud with their young daughter, Brooke. Jake’s mother and father, his mother crying softly, his father just looking at nothing. His sister, Haley, only seventeen, standing beside her boyfriend Jason, crying into his shoulder. Brad and his wife Courtney. Even the magical creatures had figured out a way to attend without being noticed; Rose recognized Jasmine the nix, Silver the mermaid, Bertha and Hobie, Hobie’s parents, Clooney the leprechaun, and Fang the brownie. All of the Dragon Council was there, as well as Fred Nerk, the Australian Dragon.
A few people drifted over to Rose, murmuring words of comfort or sorrow, but their words fell on deaf ears. Rose was beyond comfort; no one could imagine what she was going through. Glancing down at Alex, who gripped his mother’s pants, she subconsciously held him closer.
Alex was all she had left of Jake. Now she had to raise him… without Jake.
The little boy looked up at his mother, frightened by all the people and confused, and huddled against her leg.
Alex wouldn’t even remember his father. He wouldn’t remember how Jake had played with him, how much Jake had loved him. Gently Rose stroked his back. Tears misted her vision.
Alex would know. He would know that Jake had loved him.—
Alex looked up at his mother, and he had tears in his dark eyes.
“Why, Mommy? Why did Daddy have to die?”
Rose closed her eyes, pulling Alex closer. “I ask myself that question every day. I still don’t have an answer.”
“I wish Daddy was still there. I wish I could have known him.”
Rose’s eyes stung, and tears coursed down her cheeks, dampening Alex’s hair, leaving sparkling wet trails on her face.
“I wish he was still here to.”
The End
Yeah... not the feel good story of the year. Italics are flashbacks... I know I should be updating TDL, but I wanted to write this for some reason...
If you'll excuse me, I'll go cry now.