Bloom

The stories you read today end with love conquering all and happily ever after I wish I could tell you this story would be like all of those, but that's just not the case.

Ever since I was a kid, summer was always the same as long as I could remember. I would celebrate the end of school by spending time with my mother at our quaint flower shop that which was just the first floor of our home. When I wasn’t working, I left early to swim with my friends, and when I came back mother, father and I picked the best flowers to go outside as a display, all but one. The first pick was for me to choose, take to my room and cared for until it died, then I picked a brand new flower and the process repeats. I would pick a new flower every time, never the same type twice, until I saw it.

The most beautiful flower. A rose, among all the rest, stood out. Sitting directly under the sun's golden rays it almost seemed to glow. After that I was hooked, wanted to change my name. I spewed facts about roses, things they already knew, but put up with anyway. Father would bring me a bouquet of them every year on my birthday, and after school, mother greeted me home with a rose. Life was perfect, then father died.

The first year after his death, I half hoped he would greet me with a handful of roses, one for each day he was away. The second year mother grew ill, very ill, still she greeted me with roses until she couldn’t. After that the roses stopped coming, they lost all their magic. Time passed the world moved on. Days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into years. I learned to live without them, learned to live alone, then one day that all changed.

It was mid summer, the day was scorching, the news considered it one of the hottest days in years. My hair, strawberry blonde, was pulled up in a ponytail, out of my face. My blue eyes were shut as I fanned myself. The air conditioning went out and it would be another hour before the repairman arrived. I was cursing my fate when the bell rang. I opened my eyes and set the fan down, leaned myself against the counter so I could peer at my customer. I wondered if it was Mr. Jones, you see he was having an affair. He would buy his wife purple hyacinths and his mistress sweet peas. It’s funny really. “Mr. Jones,” I plastered on my fake smile and turned my back to the counter, ready to prepare the flowers of his choosing. “What will it be today?”

“Hate to disappoint, but I'm not Mr. Jones.” I turned around in confusion, my brows furrowed as I watched a stranger walk up to the counter, it was obvious he was new in town. You must be thinking it was because of the way he dressed or looked, no, he was actually dressed handsomely, for a city slicker that is. His brown hair was sticking out at every which end. His eyes were blocked out and covered by tinted glasses. His nose was crooked, as if he had broken it before. His clothes were average, blue jeans and a Beatles t-shirt. The only thing different about him from everyone else was his accent. He was cute, which meant I had no chance with him. “The name is Mikey.”

I forced myself to stop imagining what it would be like if I was the type of girl he liked. I was an orphan running a flower shop, not an outgoing stunner. I plastered on my work smile. “My mistake, sir. How can I help you today?” He smiled and walked around the shop, I instantly scolded my heart fluttering at the sight of his perfect smile. I needed to get a grip on myself. It didn’t matter how cute he was. People always left and I wasn’t planning on letting anyone in my heart anytime soon.

“I’m not sure, I was strolling down the street when I stumbled upon your little flower shop here.” He picked up a rose and sniffed, a sly grin spreading across his face. I frowned, growing suspicious of his presence here. He turned on his heel and twirled the flower between his fingers. “How much for this one?” I knew it, he had a girlfriend. It was pathetic of me to hope otherwise.

“That would be $1.50, sir.” He laid the rose delicately on the counter, fishing in his pocket for his wallet.

“A little expensive for a single rose.” He laid a five on the counter and I gave him his change, picking up his flower and wrapping it with a ribbon. I hand him the flower with a shrug.

“No, sir, it’s averagely priced.” I moved out from behind the counter and show him our collection. “You see, you picked a rose from one of our longer stems. The longer the stem the higher the price.” I pointed to one of shorter stemmed roses and pull it out. “This one is ninety-five cents.” I put it down and went to the next. “This is seventy-five cents and this,” I looked back at him to see if he was listening. He wasn’t even looking at the roses, he was looking at me, I frowned and placed my hands on my hips. “Are you even listening?”

A smile spread across his face as he stared down at me. “Sorry, you're beautiful.” My eyes widened and a blush spread across my face. I took a step back from him and frowned. He stepped closer and I put my hand up, forcing him not to take a step further. Mikey smirked and put the rose in my outstretched hand.

“What?” I questioned and looked down at the rose in shock. “What is this?” I glanced up at him and he shoved his hands into his pocket. 

“Every princess needs a rose.” If at all possible my eyes widened further. “See you around, princess.” He turned on his heel and walked out of my shop, throwing a wave over his shoulder. I looked down at the rose, my heart shattered into a million pieces, each piece stabbed with a small knife. Reflected in each pedal was a memory. In one there was my father throwing roses at me as I danced around on my bed as a small child. In another, my mother, bowed and handed me a rose every day. Then we were all together, mother braiding my hair and placed a rose crown on my head and decorated my braid with an array of roses. Angry tears pricked my eyes as memories upon memories filled my head and consumed my being.

My hand tightened around the rose, it’s thorns dug into my palm and cut open my flesh. With a loud scream I threw the rose across the room, it knocked down a picture off the wall. I wiped my tears and stumbled over, dropped down to my knees. I picked up the fallen photograph as drops of tears fell onto the now shattered picture frame. What once used to be my family was nothing more than a painful memory. I held it to my chest and strangled on a cry. I had no idea at the time, but that was the first moment of my new life. 

Each day, he came back at the same time and tried to strike up a conversation. Everyday I promptly ignored him, not willing to open up to a fickle flirt. No matter if I talked to him or not, he bought a rose and left it with me, each time more painful than the last. “Goodbye, princess, see you around.” “See you tomorrow, princess.” “Try not to miss me too much, princess,” each the same meaning yet said a different way. Until March, twenty-fifth. 

I closed up shop early and wore all black, I collected a bouquet of lilies and left home. I took a quiet stroll around town. Nobody would approach me, nobody ever dared. I walked and walked, my thoughts lost to the world as my feet dragged me to my parents’ graves. I just sat there next to them, talked to them about nothing and everything. “I miss you,” angry tears filled my eyes as I curled up on myself, arms wrapped around my torso.

“A princess, such as yourself, shouldn’t cry.” I looked up at Mikey who stared down at me with a small smile and three roses. He laid one on each grave then handed the last to me. “Every princess deserves a rose.” Mikey crouched down and pulled me into a hug, I didn’t resist. I cried into his shoulder and he just held me, he didn’t say a word.

After that his talks were no longer one sided. I actively participated in the conversations. We spent time together out of the shop and I...I enjoyed myself. For the first time in years, I found myself smiling and laughing, I found myself opening up to people. I made so many new friends it was hard to believe I was afraid of letting people in. Then it happened. Mikey, in all his confidence, strolled into the shop and bought a rose. “I have been wanting to ask you something.” He took my hand and guided me out from behind the counter.

“Yes?” Mikey looked away, a nervous flush crossed my cheeks. “Mike, you’re scaring me.” He looked me square in the eye when I said his nickname, a confident smirk crossing his face.

“Why?” He took a step forward. I took one back, my bottom hitting the counter. “Afraid I might leave you?” His mocha colored eyes glint with mischief. No, I wasn’t afraid of that, now; however, I am. “It’s nothing like that so don’t you worry, princess.” He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his knuckles caressed my cheek. “We never really talked about this. I always assumed we both knew, but that’s not good enough for me now.” My heart fluttered in my chest like butterflies begging to escape. “Let’s go on a date.” 

My heart stopped, my air left me and suddenly everything in the world disappeared but him. “What?”

“You know, a date,” he smiled nervously, “it’s when two people that like each other go out and learn stuff about one another.” I smiled, a blush crossed my face.

“I know what a date is,” he stayed silent, waiting for me to answer him. “Okay, let’s do it.” I glanced down and took the rose from him. A large smile spread across his face.

“Great, I’ll pick you up at ten?” I nodded, he leaned in, at first I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead his lips brushed up against my cheek. “I’ll see you later, princess.” He moved away and left my shop like dew on the grass first thing in the morning. 

I leaned against my counter and smiled, bringing the flower to my nose, memories of our first encounter drifted across my mind like a stream. My smile grows at my initial reaction of him, loathing, jealousy. I didn’t see how he could be so happy and hand me a rose with no idea the pain he was causing me. I looked over at the clock on the wall to see it was half past seven. I had to get ready. 

So, that’s what I did. I closed up shop early after dealing with Mr. Jones and a few other customers. That took thirty minutes, I have plenty of time. I put up the rose and prepared for my shower, the shower lasted ten minutes, picking out an outfit took up twenty minutes of my time. I went with a floral print dress. Considering I only had one pair of shoes, that didn’t take me much time. What came next was the second hardest part of the night: makeup. It took me an hour and five makeup tutorials before I was finished.

The next step of the process was the hardest, the wait. I slipped on my converse and slid down the rail where I waited and waited for Mikey to show up. I tried to keep myself busy, pacing, cleaning, organizing. Literally anything to distract myself. At ten o’clock my heart flourished, he would be there any second. At ten o’five I told myself he was running late, and at ten thirty I was convinced he wasn’t coming. I forced myself to stand and turn out the lights, that’s when I heard a knock on the door. My heart leaped from my toes back into my chest, I practically ran to the door. I stopped just a few inches away to compose myself before opening the door. There he was, a shy smile on his face and his hands clasped behind his back.

“Sorry I took so long, I wanted everything to be perfect for your arrival.” His eyes glanced over me, his smile grew even more brightly than before. Mikey took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “You’re beautiful, but, princess.” He ran a thumb across my cheek. “You’re stunning without makeup.” I smiled and glanced away, biting on my bottom lip in embarrassment.

“It’s fine, but if you do it again you’ll end up as roadkill. Where are you taking me?” He smirked and let me out of the shop, I locked the door behind me and he took my hand. You think I would be mad that he was late, but I wasn’t I was just so relieved he showed up at all.

“Afraid I can’t tell you, princess. It’s a surprise.” I pouted as he lead me away from the shop, arm snaked away from my hand to wrap around my waist.

“I hate surprises.” he laughed and shook his head. He lead me to his most impressive car, I thought it was a challenger. Ever so the suave gentleman he opened his door for me and I got in. We drove and talked and sang until we stopped by a thick foliage of trees. “You’re taking me...camping?” Mikey laughed and helped me out of the car.

“No, we just have to do a little walking to get there. Alright?” I pouted and he rolled his eyes. “You’ll like it, trust me.” I continued to pout as he guided me through trees and bushes, my dress bunched up in my hand so it wouldn’t drag on the forest floor. “I bet you’re glad you wore sneakers?” He smirked and stepped in front of me, to block my view.

“Just shut up and move.” Mikey smiled more and placed his hand in front of my face, covering my eyes. “What are you doing? Move your hand, Mikey.”

“Are you ready for your surprise, princess?” His words are soft and gentle, his lips brushed against my ear. A shiver ran down my spine as we started to walk, his hands still covered my eyes. “Do you trust me?” He questioned his hands moved up my shoulders, my eyes shut tightly. I bit my lip, doubt creeped up my chest and wrapped it’s meaty hands around my throat. 

“I…” I licked my lips and took a deep breath. “I do.” As the words left my mouth, a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders, a heat in my chest. New feelings bloomed inside of me that I couldn’t quite place.

“Open your eyes, princess.” My eyes slowly fluttered open to see Mikey smiling down at me, his signature tinted glasses framed his face beautifully. He took a step away from me and before my eyes was a landscape like no other. A meadow of flowers spread across the land as far as my eyes could see. 

“Oh my god,” tears filled my eyes at the sight of such beauty. I’d never seen so many flowers in one place before. Mother and Father would have loved this. In the middle of the meadow set a picnic for two.

“You see, every princess deserves a rose. But a beauty such as yourself deserves a field of flowers. Do you like it?” I turned back to him, he stared at me as if I was the only girl in the world, his glasses sat gracefully on the top of his head. “Oh my god, you’re crying! Do you hate it that much?” I chuckled and ran up to him, my arms wrapping around his torso. He stiffened under my touch, not exactly sure how he should react.

“It’s beautiful. I love it.” He relaxed under my touch and hugged me back, resting his chin on the top of my head. Mikey pulled away and brushed a stray tear away. He guided me to the picnic and in the basket a rose laid gently over the food. We laughed, and talked, and ate. We watched the stars and made patterns. Mikey had brought a speaker and we danced in a meadow. Afterwards, we just laid and talked. All of our dates together were spent in that field of flowers. Except winters, winters were spent inside watching movies together.

Before I knew it, years flew by and happiness once more filled my life. Mikey moved in and started helping me run the flower shop. Before he started work with me, he sat me down and explained that he owned a very famous company. He told me he could buy me a new shop, away from this town and the painful memories. He told me how his original purpose was to come down here to seal a business deal but decided to extend the stay when he met me. I politely declined the invitation for a bigger shop in a more extravagant place. I told him that the small town, while not much, is my home and, strangely enough, the memories didn’t hurt anymore. In a way, I felt guilty about moving on with my life. Like I was dishonoring my parents. Deep down I knew they would want this for me. “I wouldn’t trade it for a million dollars.” He smiled and kissed my hand.

“I understand, I’ll manage the company from down here.” I smiled and we laid out on the couch, just watching movies. “But you do understand I can give you that million to move.” My eyes widened and I looked down on him in shock. He only laughed, a laugh that rang out and filled my heart.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” I settled back down and we started the next phase of our lives. It was strange at first, waking up to see his face everyday, fearing that one morning he will realize I’m not worthy of him and move back to wherever he came from and forget about me. That day never came.

In fact, one day while I was closing up shop, Mikey snuck up on me and hugged me from behind. “Hello, princess.” A smile carved itself on my face as I leaned into his chest.

“Are you just going to stand there canoodling or are you going to help me close up shop?” I questioned with a raised brow, turning around to face him, my arms wrapped around his waist. Mikey groaned and hid his face in my shoulder.

“No, let’s just go to bed and leave it all for the morning.” I smiled and pushed him back, a pout decorated his face. I smiled and rolled my eyes, my fingers ran across his cheeks lovingly.

“You know we can’t do that, love.” I laughed and he frowned.

“Are you laughing at me?” A mischievous glint grew in his eyes. A knowing settled over me and I narrowed a suspicious gaze at him as I backed up, putting a safe distance between us just in case I needed to run from him.

“No,” I drew out hesitantly and his trademark smirk spread across his face, proof enough that he was up to no good. “Mike, Mikey!” He took a few steps forward, and so the game began, I ran away laughing as he chased after me around the shop and up the stairs. 

“Run while you still can!” Mikey called to me as I bounded to the top of the stairs. A crazy smile spread across my face as my eyes frantically darted around for a place to hide. When my eyes landed on our door, I could hear his feet hitting the stairs. I ran into our room and stopped short. My eyes grew into flying saucers at the sight laid before me. The cliche trail of rose petals lead me to our bed, heart shaped balloons surrounding the room, the walls were covered in pictures of our times together and the bed itself had roses shaped into a heart, in the middle of a heart a teddy bear holding a heart pizza that read have pizza my heart.

I turned around, slowly, and there he was, one knee on the ground, a nervous smile on his face, holding up a single rose with a ring attached on a string that was hanging from the stem. “Marry me?” The most important question anyone has asked me, the big question. What came out of my stupid mouth?

“Are you sure?” For a second he looked confused, then he laughed at me. A blush spread across my face and I looked away, arms folded across my chest.

“Hey, come on now.” Mikey stood and gently cupped my chin, and turned my head back to him. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” He brushed a strand of hair away from my face and took my hands in his. “You’re everything I could have hoped for. I love you and I want you to be my bride.” Tears filled my eyes as the fires of love spilled from my heart and warmed my body. So many emotions engulfed me in that moment it’s impossible to pin them all down. It was all so overwhelming I almost couldn’t get my words out.

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” but nothing was going to stop me. His eyes lit aflame and he quickly untied the ring from the rose and placed it on my finger. It was a beautiful wedding band, nothing too flashy. Tiny diamonds engraved all along the metal, he knew my taste, despite his wealth he went for something simple. Mikey’s eyes lit up with pure joy. His arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me into the air, spinning me around.

That was the happiest I’d felt in a long time. I spent time planning the wedding, stressing over every detail. Mikey, well, he told me not to worry so much, everything was going to be perfect. One night, I got so frustrated with his lack of interest and insitance everything was going to be alright and ‘perfect’ I asked him why. 

“Because,” came his reply, not looking away from his work laptop, “I’m marrying the prettiest, smartest woman in the world. It doesn’t matter if the wedding is big or small, perfect or a disaster, in the end I’m with the person I love.”

After that you’d think I stopped stressing, right? Of course I was moved to tears, but I did not stop stressing about the wedding. If anything I stressed more, this had to be perfect. Too bad that was pretty much impossible. I was sitting at my desk when I realized my wedding would never be perfect there was something missing, something crucial, something I’ll never have: my parents. 

My mother wasn’t here to help with the wedding, try on dresses and fuss over napkin placements or seating arrangements. Father won’t be there to walk his daughter down the aisle, give a speech or my first dance. They won’t be there for this super important time in my life. Just like they won’t get to hold their grand kids or watch them grow up.

As I was contemplating this, I was hunched over my desk, angry tears streaming down my face, sobs retching my shaking body. Every time I thought I was alone and I was allowed to let myself feel as miserable as I did, Mikey came around and pulled me out of my pit of sorrow. He wiped away my tears and reminded me of everything pleasant.

Soon after all the planning and crying the wedding was underway. We wed on the beach, Mikey loved the beach, so did I. The day was crazy, the clock was ticking down. The morning the day of was slow then turned crazy. Friends pulled us apart. The dress I bought was beautiful. Long lace sleeves, white of course, a v neck top that accentuated my bust, the dress flowed around me like magic and the train was large. My veil was see through with frilly patterns over it, but it was clear enough for me to look down the aisle at the man I loved wearing a very handsome tux.

With each step I took, my heart drummed harder, faster against my chest. My grip on the rose bouquet tightened until my knuckles were white, and by the time I was facing Mikey my breath was coming out shaky. Before the preacher man started, Mikey bent down to whisper something in my ear. “You look stunning.” I couldn’t help but smile. He rose up and so we started. Most of what happened is engraved in my mind. As our preacher talked, everything Mikey and I have been through to get here ran through my mind. From hating the fickle flirt to loving the carrying man. I couldn’t be happier and as I looked into his eyes and read his unspoken words, I knew he felt the same way.

"I was just walking around town," Mikey started his vows, quoting the words he spoke to me on the day we first met, "when fates would have it I stumbled upon your little flower shop. After seeing such a pretty sight, how could I not make you my wife." I chuckled, shaking my head at him. His words may not seem like much to everyone else, but to me they meant the world. Now it was my turn for the vows.

“Most people fall in love. They claim to never knowing how, or when, they started loving someone. That’s not me, I didn’t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, willingly and with open arms. You brought me out of a storm that day at the graveyard and you’ve been doing so ever since. You’ve stayed by my side and helped me grow. I believe our fates are made by the decisions we chose. No matter in what time, what life, world, or dimension, I would find you and walk in love with you all over again. I would choose you every time.” For the first time I saw Mikey cry. The tears glistened in his eyes, I smiled, having been crying myself as I spoke.

When the moment came to kiss me, Mikey slowly and carefully lifted up my veil. His fingers caressed my cheek. It seemed like the few seconds stretched out to an eternity as he inched closer and closer until the moment of fireworks. His lips hit mine and the world seemed to melt away. I knew in that moment that everything in my life was leading up to that moment. I never thought I could be more in love with him than I was in that moment. I was wrong.

Days passed, each day even better than the last. My love growing with leaps and bounds. Sure, we had fights, we had problems. What marriage didn’t? What mattered was by the end of the day we still loved each other, and we knew that.

Years came and went. After two years of being married, we had the most amazing news. We were pregnant; well, I was. At first, when we suspected it, we were nervous. We hadn’t been trying for a baby. Outside the bathroom door I could hear Mikey pacing restlessly, anxiously. The pregnancy test I had just taken laid on the sink, its result yet to be seen as I leaned against the wall and chewed nervously on my thumbnail. That small wand would change my life, I knew that. What I didn’t know is if the response would be good or not. Millions of outcomes were rushing through my mind. If it was a positive would he leave, stay unhappily, stay and rejoice at the new point in our lives? Or maybe if it’s a negative we could pretend this never happened and we could go on with our lives.

I gathered up whatever strength I had inside of me and picked up the wand. Positive, it was a positive. I didn’t believe it, couldn’t believe it. I emptied the entire box. Each test confirmed I was, indeed, pregnant. So many emotions boiled into my chest, it’s impossible to pin them all down. The two main ones, fighting for dominance, were happiness and worry. Happy that I’m going to be a mother, worry about how Mikey would react. Summoning all the courage I require, I grab a random test and opened the door to the bathroom. My eyes were glued to ground, I couldn’t look at him. “Well?” He questioned me, trying to catch my eye. I said nothing, just handed him the test. He took it, at first he said nothing. I counted each beat of my heart in anticipation of his reaction.

“This is…” I closed my eyes tightly, ready for his rejection of our child, “amazing.” My eyes widened and I looked up at him in shock. A large smile spread across his face, lighting up his features.

“Really?” I questioned hesitantly. He laughed and picked me up, spinning me around in joy.

“We’re going to be parents!” His laugh was contagious. In seconds, I was clinging to him and joining him in his celebration.

It was the greatest moment of our lives. We had instantly began to tell everyone of our good news. We got our ultrasound a week later. What we saw on the screen was unlike anything we’d ever expected. The pictures showed not one baby, but two. We were pregnant with twins. We had to celebrate. So, the next day, that's exactly what we did. We dressed in our finest clothes and that night we left for a picnic.

It was beautiful, the moon was full and stars shone like pin holes in the sky. There was a nice breeze to cool down the summer air. We were laughing and joking, walking hand in hand through the park while we hunted for the best spot. Everything was perfect, until suddenly it wasn’t.

A man jumped out of the trees and grabbed a hold of my arm. Everything happened so fast there was no time for any reaction but a startled scream before he started yelling. “Give me your money! Empty your pockets or she’s dead!” Mikey was frantic, not sure what to do or how to react.

“Sir, we don’t have any money, let her go! She’s pregnant! Please!” He walked close to us and the man pressed the barrel harder against my head.

“Take another step and I’ll pull the trigger! I said empty your pockets!” My eyes widened in fear and I let out a strangled cry. My nails dug into his arm that held me in place, I squirmed around in hopes of freedom.

“Alright,” Mikey stopped, hand still tightly holding the basket, probably out of fear. I didn't know, it was hard for me to focus. My heart was beating wildly against my chest as a sinking feeling like lead fell down my stomach, making my body feels heavy with extra weight of fear.

“Mikey,” my voice broke and I let out a whimper. The man jerked me, fingers digging into my shoulder.

“It’s alright, it’s going to be okay,” Mikey sent me a nervous smile before directing his gaze back to the gunman. “Alright man, we’ll play this your way.” Mikey slowly put down the basket.

“Wait!” The gunman aimed his weapon towards Mikey and I let out a startled cry, trying to get out of his grip. “Empty the basket first!”

“But...it’s only food,” the man fumed and placed the gun to my head once more. Mikey's eyes widened in fear and he instantly picked up the basket and walked towards us.

“Stop!” The man shouted, the hand holding the gun grew shaky. “I...I won’t hesitate! I’ll do it! Don’t move! Empty the basket!” Mikey didn’t stop fast enough for his liking. The world slowed down and my heart sank. I screamed as the man aimed the gun at Mikey, a loud bang resounding in the air and cutting off my scream. A loud ringing echoed in my ears, replacing all sound. I watched helplessly as Mikey dropped the basket and stumbled back before collapsing to the ground.

The arm that was holding me disappeared along with the gunman. At first I’m frozen in place, deaf and in shock. It only took a few seconds before I stumbled over to him, falling a couple times before I collapsed by his side. Blood covered his stomach, seeping out onto his clothes. I pulled his body onto my lap, trying to scream for help. Nothing came out, I couldn’t hear myself scream over the ringing. I tried and tried again, each attempt louder than the one before as I pressed my hand against the wound, trying to get it to stop bleeding. It had to stop bleeding. This couldn’t be happening, why was this happening?

Mikey mouthed something but I couldn’t hear what he said. The ringing slowly faded away, I could start to hear the mumbles of my screams. My shouts of despair must have drawn attention because the next thing I knew I was being pulled away from him. I struggled, screamed, cried, but in the end it was pointless. Mikey was already dead.

Mikey never got to learn the gender of our kids, he missed every ultrasound, he never got to witness their birth, and wasn't able to spoil his grandchildren. He didn’t get to do a lot of things. After the murder, I inherited Mikey's phone company and the murderer was caught. After the investigation they gave me the one thing in the basket that was still alive. A fake rose with blood splattered over it.

So, you see, my love story has no happily ever after like you would expect. We didn't grow old together and he didn't get to walk his daughters down the aisle. What we had was a happy beginning and a happy middle. Now, as I lay dying with my two darling kids and grandchildren surrounding my bed, I can say, while it isn't the happily ever after of my dreams, it is, nonetheless, a beautiful ending to my story.