Epilogue: February 1997
Rose had passed away a year ago to the day.
Dressed in black, Elizabeth Dawson-Lovett held an umbrella atop her head. The rain had poured dreadfully in recent weeks but it never stopped her visiting. She breathed out and a cloud of fog emerged.
Laid before her were the graves of her family; Samuel, Jack, Teddy, Lilly, her own Mother and now her grandmother. She had spent time in Wisconsin after her grandmother's funeral to visit the graves of her great grandparents and of the baby uncle who she had never met and then onto New York where her Aunt Eadie had been buried but now, as she stood in Woodlawn Cemetry, Santa Monica, surrounded by plots of the Dawson children, the grandchildren and now Rose, she felt the love present.
''I brought you all a rose.'' She spoke to the ground, as though it would have ears. ''I hope you appreciate how expensive they are nowadays.'' She smiled through her tears. ''Of course, you would grandpops.''
She breathed through her tears, feeling the loss in the pit of her stomach.
''Well, Nana, you were right, weren't you?'' She grasped onto the umbrella hard as she tried to fight back the sobs. ''I did need to find a man and to have babies, but of course, you knew that didn’t you. That night I put you in bed, you knew that it would be the last time, that grandpops was waiting and you knew that Brock would ask me to marry him, didn’t you?''
She felt her hands shake. After Rose's death, Brock had accompanied her back to Ojai where she had been living with her Nana and he hadn't left. They had married after three months.
''You would like him, too. You all would.'' She wiped her face. ''I just hope you can all see how happy I am, even though my life is so empty without you.'' Her voice cracked and her breathing became shallow. ''I love him so much and we're going to have a baby.'' Her hand fell to her swollen stomach. ''In three months I will be a mother and my life will just be starting, just as you said, Nana.''
A flash of thunder in the distance silenced Lizzy and she gasped. She never liked a storm.
''But, we are moving to New York, too. Brock has good job opportunity there and we want to raise our kids in the City, at least for now. He talks about three or four kids and we both know we're not getting younger. I want that, too. I want a family. A husband and a life, just half as filled with love as yours was.''
The thunder erupted once more and a flash of lightening scared her witless. She knew that she had to go.
''I don’t know when I will be back down here.'' She whispered to no body. ''But I hope you will forgive that I can't visit much anymore but I carry you in my heart, and of course Nana's pictures.''
She turned, feeling her unborn child kick and move about within. Clutching the umbrella, the lightening flashed and this time it was right above them. She gasped and right there, before her, she could have sworn she saw the smiling faces of Jack, of Rose, of her Mother. All young, happy and-
''Lizzy!'' She heard her name called. It was Brock. He came running through the thick trees of the cemetery and met her at the bottom of her grandmother's grave.
''Brock?''
His arms came around her as he took the umbrella from her. ''Come along, you'll catch your death out here.''
She nodded. Her eyes finding her husbands in the dim early evening light. He sensed the hesitation, she didn’t want to leave this place, or she was torn at least.
''Are you sure this is what you want?''
Go, silly girl, go live your life! She heard her grandmother's shrill voice called out to her. She broke into a silly giggle, Brock narrowed his eyes at her outburst of laughter.
''Lizzy?''
''Yes. I am more than ready. Take me home, let us go and live our lives.''
So, he did.
