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Jack's memorial service was going to be held the Sunday following his death. It was the most miserable week of Marie’s life, as it was Dylan’s and Beth’s. Telling them that they weren’t going to see their daddy again was almost as gut-wrenching as witnessing her own husband fall to his doom. She also got confirmation that week that she was, in fact, pregnant again. She was going to have another girl, and she thought it appropriate to name her Jacquelyn, resembling the name of the baby’s father.

As for the business, it had fallen into Marie’s hands, as she was the wife of the owner. She wanted Joshua to run it, but he admitted he wasn’t very well-versed in the technology involved in producing the devices Jack used to, so he had to decline. It appeared that she was going to have to sell it and let the city decide what to do with it, but Marcus intervened, and offered to buy the business himself, and just annex it with his own business. He promised he would not change its name, or erase Jack’s memory from it. He also promised Marie that she would get a large portion of the profits made from that building to sustain her, at least until she decided she would get a job for herself, or marry again in the future. She appreciated his offer, and accepted.

On the other hand, the media portrayed Jack as a psychotic nutcase, and even included interviews with people saying they were glad he was gone for good. Marie didn’t bother to watch any of it, and she even sent a letter to various local news outlets to stop portraying her late husband this way, and that he was a good boss, husband, and father who fell victim to a disorder. They ignored her; portraying someone as a villain brought in better ratings after all. However, Marcus ran an ad for his own business that included his new annex, and spent time vouching for Jack’s character himself, and saying he deserved to be remembered for the good that he did. With these words coming from a “big-shot” millionaire, a lot of the townspeople changed their mind about Jack.

“Marcus, you have been spoiling me,” Marie said to him as they waited for the service to start. “You have had every reason to curse Jack, but you’ve been nothing but gracious to me, and to his memory. I don’t deserve you.”

“He didn’t deserve to go out that way, and he doesn’t deserve to be treated so callously by the media. You’re still my friend, Marie, and friends help each other.”

It was then that Marie noticed Ronald was missing. She asked around if anyone saw him, and it was Claudia who told her he stepped outside not too long ago.

“I see, thank you.”

Marie went out herself. “Ronald? Are you out here?” Are you alright?”

“No…” He replied, hiding behind one of the bushes. “I want to die…”

Marie found him and hugged him. “Ronald, don’t say that…”

“This is all my fault...Jack would still be here if I never went out with Ashley…”

“You didn’t intend for this Ronald, and if you want to go down that route...it’s also my fault. My tongue slipped during an emotional moment, and I couldn’t stop Jack from there. I never wanted this to happen, but accidents are real, and once they happen, you have to deal with them and move on…”

“Maybe I will, someday…”

“It’s going to take some time, but we have each other to lean on and get strength from. Get encouragement from the apostle Paul, he could tell you about forgetting those things which are behind and pressing towards the high calling of God, in Christ. Remember, he actually murdered people directly before meeting Christ face-to-face.”

“I wish I was strong enough to move on…”

“You ARE strong enough, Ronald, because Jesus dwells in your heart. Remember when Paul said, “I can do all things through Him which strengtheneth me?” He was talking about how to abound, and how to abased. Right now, we’ve both been abased, but God’s grace gives us the power to live through it and still have joy and peace in our hearts. It’s available to you, Ronald; you just have to let grace put your guilt to death.”

Ronald nodded. “Thanks for the encouragement; it’s strange that you’re the one suffering more, but I’m the one crying for strength.”

“I said that all to myself as much as I said it to you.” She turned to go back in. “Let’s go inside; it’s going to start soon...I’ll need my tissues ready…”

It was hard for Marie not to cry upon seeing the image of her husband at the front; it was the picture she took of him on the day he started his business. He looked so happy and youthful, and it was how she wanted to remember him the rest of her life.

“And to think...we were supposed to be in Bluerock Forest today...We were supposed to all be together and enjoying each other’s company…”

One of her brothers sat next to her, and he held her paw. He offered her a tissue and wiped her eyes.

“I’m crying before we’re even starting; I’m going to run out of tissues five minutes in…” She commented to him, feeling comfortable enough to at least make a little bit of humor. He indulged her and made a small chuckle.

“There’s no shame in it; if you run out, you can use my arm.”

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The service wasn’t long, and it was mostly positive. Marie’s sister had put a slideshow together of Jack’ all pictures ranging from his birth to as late as a few weeks ago. He barely made it to twenty-nine, and yet he seemed to do so much within that time-frame. Some of them were cute and funny, and others sweet and cheerful. It was during the pictures involving her and their children that pained her heart the most. Beth and Dylan were sitting on her other side, and she leaned slightly to kiss them both on the head.

Most of the people that came up to speak kind things about Jack were from his own family, though Joshua also said something, as did Marcus. The speeches ranged from humorous little anecdotes to poignant, touching scenes. Just before the service was to close, though, Ronald was moved to get up and talk, too. He was handed the microphone and just spoke from where he stood. Some of the people felt uncomfortable, as they knew he was the one Jack tried to kill during his last moments.

“Jack was a good friend to our family, and I can attest that he was a good boss. He was someone who cared about providing for others and helping those who were less fortunate. I know that,” he hesitated, nervous, “I’ve been the elephant in the room thanks to the news, and Jack hasn’t been treated fairly by them, but I will remember him as someone who treated his employees like family,” he nodded to Joshua, “he loved his wife and children like crazy,” he looked in Marie’s direction, “and I believe his faith and trust in God were sincere and strong. I’ve felt like family to him enough to say that, and I will remember him for those things…”

He gave the microphone back, and his mother hugged him. “That was sweet.” She said softly to him.

“Jack was a good guy,” he replied, “I just wish he could’ve gotten over his problems before it was too late…”

In the following months, Ronald did the best he could in school, and graduated with a 3.3 GPA; not valedictorian, but he was just happy to get out of there. He applied for a college that emphasized nature-study and geography, and got accepted. The campus, however, was nearly 2,000 miles away, so he was going to have to live over there. Cecilia would be starting high school the next fall, and of course, she would be taking as many art classes as possible. The triplets were moving on to fourth grade, just a year more until getting to be top dogs at school.

Ronald’s term would be starting in two weeks, but he wanted to get there a little early so he could familiarize himself with the campus and the surrounding town. He would be rooming with two other friends from school who were interested in the same kind of study. He was going to leave tomorrow, and his dad was going to take him to the airport.

“I painted this for you,” Cecilia unveiled a watercolor painting she made of a serene pine forest, with majestic mountains in the background. “Since it’s your favorite kind of environment.”

“Thank you; this looks nice! It’s so big though that I don’t know if I can fit this in my luggage.”

“You should keep it here anyways; you don’t want those luggage-handlers ruining it and breaking it.”

“Oh,” Cecilia sighed. “But promise me you’re going to visit.”

“I already plan to; it’s not like the college will be my permanent residence. By the way, I have something to give you too.”

He ran off to his room and came back with two boxes.

“Is that-”

“It most definitely is.” Ronald concluded. “It’s that digital art program you kept saying you wanted, and also a tablet and pen so you don’t have to keep using the mouse.”

Cecilia had no time to rave over her gift, as Ronald went back to get something for his triplet siblings right after.

“Since you’re still young, your interests are still all over the place, so I got gift certificates for all of you. I’m sorry it’s not more personal.”

“I won’t complain; money is money!” Xavier was the first to pick him up, and the two sisters joined and made it a group hug.

“Haha, okay, okay! Go easy on me; I’m still a twig!” The slim Ronald laughed, smothered by three towering wolves.

For his parents, Ronald got one of their recent family pictures a really nice frame, and also enlarged. They hugged him too; Diane particularly touched by the gesture.

“So even when I’m away, you’ll always remember we’re together.” Ronald said, not meaning to sound so corny. Diane cried and hugged him again.

“I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

“No, no, I’m crying because I’m going to miss you. It’s what mothers do…”

Marcus also felt sad, but also thrilled to see his son taking off and pursuing something he had a passion for.

“Oh, and before we go, there are four more people I want to say bye to…”

A few minutes later, Marie noticed Ronald outside her window. She set Jacquelyn down gently into her crib, and went to open the door. She was expecting to see him today, as she knew he was leaving tomorrow. She unlocked the door for him.

“Ronald,” she greeted him with a smile, “come in.”

“Thank you.” He walked inside. “I, uh, I just really came to say good-bye. I know it’s late, so I’ll be quick.”

“I understand; you have an early flight, right?”

“Yeah.”

He found Dylan and Beth playing in their room; the door was ajar, but he knocked anyways.

“Ronald!” Beth exclaimed excitedly.

“Wanna play legos with us?” The hospitable Dylan asked.

“I’d love to, but I really came just to say good-bye. I’m going far away to another school.”

Neither of them knew what that meant, but they weren’t happy to hear it. He hugged them both, and promised that he’d play with them next time he visited. Next, he asked Marie if she was fine with him picking up Jacquelyn, and she gave him the okay. He picked up the three-month old, though Marie had to gently adjust his arms so he would hold her correctly. The baby sable looked up at him with confusion.

“I know, I’m not a sable, and you probably have no idea who I am, but I just wanted to say good-bye to you too. Maybe we’ll also play legos in the future.”

He set her back down the way he found her, and then turned to Marie. This time, no words were said before they hugged each other.

“I’m going to miss you, Ronald.”

“I’m going to miss you too, Marie. Thanks for being a good friend…”

“Thank you too, and I hope we can still stay in touch, even while you’re there.”

“We will, though I can’t promise my teachers will go easy on me with the homework and study.”

“Put that first, but if you get any free time, and need a friend to talk to, I’m here.”

“Thanks...I am going to feel alone, I’m sure, so I might be calling back home a lot.”

“Loneliness is hard, as I’ve been learning, so if you start to feel homesick, I’ll be right here, and I’m sure your own family would love to hear from you too.”

“Of course,” Ronald said, and then, after looking at the time, he knew he had to wrap this up now.

“Goodbye, Marie…”

“Goodbye, Ronald…”

With that, they let each other go, and Ronald made his way back to the front door. On the wall beside it hung a picture of Jack. It was the same picture that was displayed at the front of the chapel where the memorial service took place. Ronald stopped and faced it.

“I know I said goodbye a long time ago, but it was an untimely and unhappy goodbye.” He sighed, but smiled. “I want to give a more proper goodbye; one where we’re both happy, so...goodbye, Jack.”

A small tear rolled down from his eye as he opened the door and walked out to his dad’s car.

Marie wiped a tear from her own eye, and then went to prepare dinner for herself and her kids. Yes, life would never be normal again with Jack being here.

But Marie still smiled, knowing that she would always have things to be grateful for.

Despite everything...she was blessed.

THE END.