A
childless and lonely elderly man visits his wife’s grave daily,
bringing her flowers and sitting beside her for hours. One day, he
happens to meet an unfamiliar young lady there who calls his wife
“Mommy,” and he’s startled, to say the least.
Albert
places his late wife’s favorite lilies against her gravestone and
gently runs his fingers over the name engraved on it in memory of Carol,
beloved wife of Albert. “How are you doing, darling?” Albert asks her
as he sits down on the prickly grass.
“Isn’t
the weather lovely today?” In the sodium gleam of the sun on the
slightly chilly morning, Albert is visiting his wife Carol again to
spend some time with her. He has been doing that for as long as he can
remember. That day, Albert spends the whole morning and afternoon with
Carol before leaving her with a promise that he’ll revisit her the next
day. When he turns around to look at her after walking a short distance
away from her, he notices a young woman approaching Carol’s grave.
His
heart skips a beat when he hears her say, “Mom.” Albert and Carol’s
love story had been a simple yet romantic one. They married barefoot on a
beach and hadn’t told their families about it. Carol was a teacher, and
Albert was a lawyer. Neither of them had a special someone before they
met, which is probably why something sparked between them instantly when
they met at a friend’s party in Georgia.
When
their families learned about their secret marriage, they expected the
couple would soon announce their pregnancy, but that’s where it all went
downhill. Carol and Albert tried for years but couldn’t conceive. The
doctor said it was hard for Carol to bear a child due to complications,
so the couple decided their love for one another was enough. Carol threw
herself into work, spending time with the children around her and
finding solace in the fact that she still had kids loving her. But
things were hard for Albert, who was hurt that they didn’t have any
children of their own.
Years passed, and Carol
and Albert grew older and somehow got over the grief of being childless.
When Carol retired, she expected her students would visit her, as she
had been a devoted teacher, but it didn’t happen. Carol’s students
eventually forgot her, which hurt her, and soon after, she was
bedridden, counting the days she had left. Carol was diagnosed with
cancer and died in Albert’s arms after she left for her heavenly home. A
strange loneliness and sadness gripped Albert’s heart.
Nobody
around him believed he was the same Albert who once used to be a cheery
man. Albert became fragile and weaker day by day, and he only left the
house when he visited his late wife. Carol still lived in Albert’s
heart, even though she wasn’t there with him physically. So every day,
he bought the same bouquet for her, not one flower less and not one
more, and sat beside her, telling her about how much he missed her. When
Albert heard the strange young man calling Carol “Mommy,” he was
shocked because he and Carol were childless.
They
hadn’t even considered adoption. “Who is this woman visiting his wife?”
Albert wondered as he slowly trudged back to Carol’s grave on his cane.
Albert saw the young woman placing a bouquet against it and weeping
bitterly. “I miss you so, so much,” Albert overheard her saying.
“I
wish I’d come sooner. I had to tell you so many things. I’m so glad I
met you.” “Excuse me, miss,” Albert interrupted her. “I’m sorry, but did
you know her?
The woman turned around upon
hearing Albert’s voice, and his gaze was fixed on her. She had green
eyes and a kind smile, but she didn’t look like Carol at all. “I called
her Mommy,” she said. “Mrs. Fitzwilliam was all I had when I was a
little child.
She was an amazing woman. I’m
April. Are you here to visit her?” she asked him. “Oh, well, I’m her
husband, young lady, but I don’t seem to remember you.
Albert
introduced himself. “As smart as my memory can recollect, I don’t think
Carol ever mentioned any April to me.” “We lost touch,” April
explained. “I met Mrs. Fitzwilliam in sixth grade.
I
was in the playground crying because I didn’t have lunch. When she saw
me, she got me a sandwich and a drink, and she did that every single
day, even after I started bringing my own lunch. I’m an orphan, so I
live in a shelter. Mrs. Fitzwilliam said I could call her Mommy after I
told her how lonely I felt.
It was awful not
having parents at a young age, and thanks to her, that void was filled
in my life. I had to leave the city when I passed out of school, and I
didn’t know how to get in touch with her.” “She was lovely, wasn’t she?
The best,” said Albert with a small smile. “If she had told me about
you, then I would have adopted you, honey.
We
didn’t have children, and I always wanted one, but Carol was hurt that
she couldn’t conceive, so she just moved on with the fact that God
didn’t want us to have kids.” April smiled. “Looks like she loved you
very much, Mr. Fitzwilliam.” “Albert, please call me Albert.
So,
I’m here after all these years just to see her. I wanted my family to
meet Mrs. Fitzwilliam. She was such a fun and kind person, and I’m glad I
met her. My husband and I moved here only recently, and I wanted my
kids to meet her too.
I couldn’t stop crying
when I learned she was no more.” “Oh, dear, I’m sorry,” Albert said.
“Carol would have loved that. She’d be thrilled, in fact. She loved her
students like her own.
April and Albert spent
the evening together that day, sitting beside Carol and remembering her.
When they were leaving the cemetery, Albert invited April to visit
Carol often so they could remember her together and share things each of
them didn’t know about her.
April was more
than happy to do that, and over time, those encounters and conversations
turned into friendship, and soon, Albert was a part of April’s family.
Albert was glad he found people who loved him, and he cried when April
called him “Dad.” “If Mrs.
Fitzwilliam were
alive, she would have loved to see me call you ‘Dad,’ and I’m so glad we
met, Albert. She must be looking down on us from those pretty skies and
smiling at us.”
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