Michael P.O.V.
It was harder now than before to get Natalia to eat anything. All the food that I'd make for her or her grandma would make for her would be wasted. All she would do is sit in the living-room with a blanket over her, her hair in a messy bun and baggy clothes on. Her face varied within the day from a pale white to a blotchy pink from all the tears. She hardly spoke. She did nothing.
Some family members visited every now and then to pay their respects and flowers were put down in front of the house in memory of them both. A small teddy bear had arrived in the post ordered by her mother for the baby. When Natalia opened it her eyes filled with tears but nothing came out. She hugged the teddy with the blanket covered in her mothers scent. It was difficult getting her to sleep- she slept well when she was pressed against my chest as close as she could be as if she was holding onto me so I couldn't go anywhere. Often I would quietly sing to her so that she knew I was still with her.
A week after Natalia lost her mother, her Grandma and Grandpa came over to stay for a few days. Natalia hadn't spoken to them since they visited her mother in hospital. Her Grandpa had cooked us all a Sunday lunch, hoping that she would eat something. She'd barely noticed the fact that they were in the house.
"Nat.." I said crouching down in front of Natalia
"Let's take a bath" I continued, smiling slightly and holding out my hand for her, instead of her taking it, she held out both of her arms for me to pick her up.
As I picked her up and carried her upstairs, she rested her head into my neck. As I ran the bath, she didn't say much. I slowly undressed her. This is the first time I'd seen her naked since the camping adventure back in Australia. She was looking thin and fragile- this eating wasn't helping her body. It seemed like it was more shutting her body down slowly. I helped her into the bath before joining her. She led back into my arms and sighed quietly as if she was trying to relax slowly.
"I think we should start to plan the funeral.." She said
"Mum would like pastel colours, nothing too big or fancy.. Aslong as the people she love are there, that's all she'd want.." She continued
"Anything you'd like, I'm with you all the way." I smiled slightly, kissing her head
We lay in the bath discussing ideas about her mums funeral. This was the most she'd said for days. She must have been planning the whole thing in her head ever since it happened. After a while we got out of the bath. I wrapped her in a towel and she looked up at me
"Your amazing you know that?" She smiled slightly at me before gently kissing me. She walked off into her room. She sat on the edge of her bed looking at the photos around the room. I'd never seen her room at home, only the one in Australia.
"Dinner will be 10 minutes" You could hear her Grandma call up the stairs
"This is me, mum and dad when I was 4.. It was my first day of school, mum bought me my first rucksack.. It had Hannah Montana on it" She laughed showing me a collection of photographs
She looked the spitting image of her mother, her hair and her facial features were exactly the same.
"This is me and mum when I was about 7.. She took me on a hike and we found a swing in the middle of a wood. We played on it for all of about 2 minutes, then got a photo just before the rope snapped" She laughed louder than I'd heard her laugh for ages.
"Dinner's ready" Her Grandma called up the stairs
"Can I wear one of your t-shirts?" She asked
"Help yourself" I smiled
When we both got dressed, we went downstairs for a meal that her Grandparents had been spending their afternoon making- they had cooked us all a big Sunday dinner with all the trimmings. That night I saw Natalia eat more than she'd ever eaten before- all this time she'd just spent it thinking about everything that was going on and how she was going to arrange the funeral and sorting the house out but now she had spoken about it, it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Once she finished, she pushed her plate away from her and patted her stomach as a sign that she was full up.
I was so happy that she had finally eaten something after all this time, but now it was time to plan two funerals and our future together.. Whether it will be here in LA or over in Australia.. Only time could tell.
