We would walk for miles, down shadowy lanes. Talking for hours as if we were the only two alive. And in those moments, we were just that. We would walk for hours, through the woods, and down the narrow pathways beneath the falling leaves. Admiring the scenery as much as we were each other’s company. We would become lost, not in our way, but in each other. It was in moments like these that I realized how truly lucky I am to have you.
We became friends at an early age, and our relationship blossomed. Our parents had their own problems with each other, but they could not stop us. They became friends in the end and accepted that we both had strong feelings for the other.
We finished college; you finished school for addiction counseling, and I finished religious studies and became a minister of a beautiful church. We got married after college and started our careers. You had picked up a job at a rehabilitation center and counseled addicts. All your clients seemed to love you; from the rumors I had heard.
It was a beautiful wedding; we had it on the beach at sunset. The sun reflecting off the water brought out your true beauty. I cried more than you did. I will never forget your dad’s face when he walked you down the aisle. It was a look of admiration. When he gave me your hand you both looked at the other and smiled. That was the happiest I had ever seen him. The wedding went beautifully, and with a, you may kiss the bride. I felt complete. You threw the bouquet, and after a tussle, my mom caught it. We then drove off to start the rest of our lives together.
We bought a house in a small town, but it did have its charms. We had saved all we could over a few years, and we finally could afford a house of our own. It was a white single story on a small patch of land, but we made it work. Our parents would visit often and if you ask me, they might have a little thing of their own going on. They were being flirty, but trying to hide it from us, as if they were children. I just hope they are happy.
Your father had been sobered for three months. He started going to church on Sunday, which was a sight to see, he just never went before. I was ecstatic that he was going to church every Sunday. Even if it was a different one that I was ministering. I could see a change in his eyes already. But to tell him that, he would just act like you were crazy. Having my mom around as a friend had really been good for him. And the more I saw them together, the flirtier they seemed.
My mom had showed a real change too. She had seemed like she wasn’t as lonely since they had become friends. She really hadn’t talked to anyone in a way such as that, in a while. I asked her if there was anything she was wanting to talk about. But she said they was just friends…I didn’t believe them for a second. But it didn’t matter, just if she was happy.
Our parents had admitted to us that they had started dating a while back. We couldn’t understand why they would hide it from us unless they were ashamed of how they acted in the past. But the past was just that, the past. One day, a few months later, they both got in a heated argument. My mom left in a rage, and Jeremy thought he had really messed up. He was afraid he wouldn’t see my mom again. He came over to our house crying frantically, you said he acts out when he is upset. I was afraid of him acting out on you or me, so I made him leave. He refused to be drove and left on his own accord.
We got a call later that night, Jason had gotten in an accident and was in the hospital. I called mom and told her what had happened. She rushed to see Jason with a broken leg, and two broken ribs and a slight concussion, where the steering wheel hit him, and he hit his head. But the doctor said he would recover; it would just take some time. My dad apologized for being a total jerk, and that he wished he could take back all he said and did. Stacy just said she would need time.
Jeremy came home with us, just until he recovered, and to give Stacy some space to think. He seemed like his best friend had just died. But he didn’t reach for the bottle, even though I could see it in his eyes and actions he wanted it. He was determined not to let the bottle get the best of him again. And I admired his drive to make his situation right.
I tried not to get stuck in the middle of the situation, but I went to talk to my mom. I was worried about Jeremy. “He wasn’t sleeping,” I told her. I could hear how upset he was at night when it was quiet. Night times always seem to be the worst in any given situation, or illness for that matter. Anyway, my mom admitted to missing Jeremy. She was just afraid he would break her heart. She didn’t want to see him in the mental state he was that night.
After that, I left and went back home. A couple days later my mom knocked on the door.
She asked Jeremy to go for a drive so they could talk. She had told him that her father would get drunk and hit her and her mom. She said she could feel it in her heart that she was falling for him. It not only hurt her but scared her to see him like that. Jeremy had been going to AA meetings to try to overcome his problem, and that he only wished for her to wait to see a change in him. She said to show her a one-month sobriety pendant, and they would talk.
Kimberly and I did all that we could to help Jeremy. But he was determined to do this on his own. I admired his drive; it takes a strong person to admit they were wrong and make things right. Stacy, he said, made him feel like he was they were the only two people alive. I kept telling him to work hard and ask God for guidance and all would work out the way it should. I told him that sometimes God puts us in these situations for our own good. Who knows why this happened, maybe it was supposed to happen this way. We shouldn’t question God, only trust the process.
A month went by, and Jeremy got his one-month pendant and showed it to Stacy. I could see her eyes light up when she saw what Jeremy was willing to do to right the situation. Stacy rushed over to hug Jeremy. She said that they should get married too. So, Jeremy bought her a princess cut wedding ring with the last of the money he had. She told him not to get her an expensive ring, but he wanted to show her off.In the end, all that matters in life is that we rely on God, and do all we can to be happy. The rest will fall into its right place.
Schizophrenic Poems, Short Stories, and Thoughts 