Cherish

Carry On (37)

Jaden hadn't uttered much after their group of fifteen finished praying, through the opening ceremony and during their goodbyes with her parents, Heather and Vanessa. Dark tinted shades shielded her eyes, which made it that much more difficult for Georgie to read her expressions.

The musician mustered a smile. "No, sweetheart. Nothing's wrong." She put her hand out, palm upward. "May I have my handkerchief back?"

The cloth clutched within her palm, Georgie folded her arms over her chest, obstructing Jaden's view of it. "You may when you tell me the truth. Jae, what's wrong?" she softly inquired, moving away from the tree and closer to Jaden. When her friend failed to speak, Georgie used her empty hand to remove the shades. A crack marred her heart upon seeing the watery film covering azure eyes. "Baby..."

Allowing her helmet to drop onto the grass, Jaden pulled the smaller woman to her and held on as though her life depended on the intensity of that embrace. Neither of them immediately speaking, Georgie rubbed along the length of a back that was warm despite the chilly air. When she soon felt the tears staining her neck and the back trembling beneath her hands, she led them to a nearby bench, keeping her arms around Jaden.

Several minutes had passed when with a shuddering breath, Jaden removed her head from her partner's shoulder, although she kept contact with an arm around both of her shoulders. She fiddled with one of the zippers on her fanny pack, a silent tear falling down her cooling cheek as she observed her fingers slowly moving the zipper back and forth along the tiny ridges.

"I miss him," she whispered through a thickened voice. "I know God has a plan for all of us, but he should still be here -- alive. He was so young and he went through so much in the short time that he was given." Done playing with her zipper, Jaden was about to run a hand through her hair when she recalled that she had put it into a ponytail. She settled for sliding the plastic purple I.D. bracelet around her wrist.

Having placed Jaden's shades and now folded handkerchief next to her thigh on the bench, Georgie pulled a hand into her lap, intertwining their fingers in the process. "I know you miss Evan, sweetheart," she began, her voice quiet...gentle. "I've seen it written on your face everyday. But, Jae, you could think of this...his passing as a reward."

"Reward." Based on her expression, she didn't comprehend how that was possible. How?"

Georgie nodded. "Yes. I've given it a lot of thought and have concluded -- realized actually -- that death isn't an end to life. It's really just the beginning of the next chapter. Your life could be depicted as a novel perhaps and death is the epilogue. True, an epilogue's place is at the ending of a book, however, that is when your sequel begins. Your sequel could be titled 'The Afterlife'. Are you with me?"

"Are you high?" Jaden's unexpected yet welcomed smile accompanied the teasing retort. "Kidding, Georgie. Yes, I'm with you."

"Hey watch it, J-Co." Smiling back, she nudged the brunette's shoulder. "I'm endeavoring to wax philosophic here. Oh and for your info, I've only taken Midol today. It had caffeine in it thou -- oops." Appearing like someone wanting to be excused, Georgie raised her free hand into the air. "That was my first caffeine slip. I swear. Didn't even think about the ingredients in those pills."

"Because I'm so nice, I'll pretend your slip didn't happen." Winking, Jaden squeezed the palm against hers. "Please continue your waxing."

"It's especially terrible when a child passes. It's terrible for us because you know they're fine." She smiled. "They're wonderful -- Evan is now in a wonderful place. He is onto his sequel, which is guaranteed to be so much greater than the first novel that took place on this earth. You said it yourself -- he went through so much during his short time here. Now all of that is over and Evan has started anew."