By: Jamie Sommers
Email: [email protected]
Rated: PG 13
Synopsis: This is a chapter story in which an older Landon, shares his memories with someone, of his time spent with Jamie during their summer together as husband and wife. It will take you through their wedding, their marriage and Jamie's funeral.
Prologue:
"I remember her saying, 'In your arms--that's where I want to die, Landon--in your arms,' and the look on her face when she said it--so matter of fact. By that point in her illness, we both knew she didn't have much longer before," he cleared his throat, "…before that would actually happen."
"I walked back over to her and knelt down, cradling her face in my hands," he held his hands out in front of him as though he were performing the task, "and I said, 'I wouldn't have it any other way'." A tender smile formed on his lips, never quite reaching his eyes.
"Our family and friends just stared at us in disbelief. My mother made up some kind of excuse to go back into the house and Jamie's dad…well, I could see the disappointment in his eyes. Not because it was my arms she wanted to be in when she left this world but because we both seemed to just accept the inevitable. Jamie was dying." His chin dropped as he focused on a spot between his feet.
"It was going to happen whether we liked it or not. There was nothing we could do to stop it from happening and we all knew that. It was just harder for some people to admit…me included…for a while anyway."
He stood up and began to pace back and forth across the wooden planks of the porch. "It's not that we didn't care about her dying, it was just that we knew there was no way to stop it so…what choice did we have but to accept it. It's what God wanted."
He stopped and looked over the railing at the passing cars and continued. "We even planned her funeral. We went shopping for caskets and tombstones like some people would shop for a prom dress," he said with a sad smile across his face.
"It had to be the perfect fit. This was eternity we were talking about and it had to be…well, it had to be perfect. We talked about the music she wanted to hear at the service and even picked out songs for the choir to sing," he paused and closed his eyes as though he were listening to the harmonies that filled the church on that devastating day.
"You know what the easiest part of planning it was? Picking out the plot. We knew exactly where she would be buried. Our cemetery. We even found the perfect spot, a double plot--meaning there was room for me when I passed away too--right under the branches of a tree so there would be some shade during the day, but with a view of her star at night. She wasn't too happy about me insisting on a double plot but…" a slight grin lifted the corner of his mouth, "oh, she was so mad. She didn't think I should've been planning my death too," he held up his hands in defense, "and…I swear…I wasn't, but she was absolutely sure I was giving up on life." His grin was now a full-blown smile. "She hadn't looked that mad since that afternoon I showed up at her doorstep asking her to run lines with me."
He walked over to the porch swing and sat down, pushing the ground with his foot to start the momentum. "We used to sit on her father's porch swing and run lines after school for that…" he shook his head back and forth, "…awful play that Eddie Zimmerhoff wrote." He chuckled a bit at the memory of the first run through they had, in which he butchered his lines. "Oh, I was so bad. I knew I was going to be the laughing stock of the whole school if I didn't get some help."
"It was that play that brought her to me though, so I should be grateful, and I am. Thank you Eddie, wherever you are." He said to no one in particular.
"When I saw her on stage that night…she looked so beautiful…so…she took my breath away." He stopped the swing from moving and looked at the family that lived across the street packing up their car--obviously heading to the beach for the day.
"She used to love taking walks along the dock--day or night, didn't matter. For the first few weeks of our marriage she was able to do it on her own, but then…after a while…" once again his head hung down as he recalled how painful it was for Jamie at the end. "…we had to get her a wheelchair so she could get around. At first we just brought it with us wherever we went…just in case she got tired. Eventually, she was just too weak to stand…to walk…to breathe." His eyes began filling with tears, blurring his vision of the family. "That chair became her legs and it never fazed her. Never. Not once did she complain about having to use it." He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and continued. "Yet despite all of that…Jamie and I had a perfect summer with more love than lots of people have in a lifetime…"
North Carolina 1996"I can't believe it. I'm Mrs. Landon Carter. MRS. LANDON CARTER!" She screamed as she launched herself into his arms.
His laughter echoed through the vestibule of the church as he caught her and twirled around in a circle. "I can't believe it either, Jamie. You're," he put her down and captured her face in his hands, "my wife." He kissed her on the mouth, quick and hard then threw his head back and yelled in jubilation, "MY WIFE!!"
They headed out of the church and walked briskly through the downpour of rice; towards the limousine Landon's mother got them as a wedding gift. The chauffeur stood waiting with the car door open as Jamie turned her back to the crowd and threw her bouquet of fresh flowers over her shoulder, then stepped into the waiting vehicle.