Before we go

Birthday girl & exit stage left

After the wonderful news from Ted and Annie about the insurance, Ana and myself began to feel very strange, it's hard to describe, but I think she also felt the weight being lifted as I had , now knowing that our daughters future ( financially anyway ) was more secure then ours had been at her age , and the knowledge that my sister and Ted were there for her , was a feeling of total relief.
Don't get me wrong, the strange feeling was a strange in a good way feeling, but it was as if we began to sense that our time here was coming to an end, what are you thinking about ? Ana asked me, oh this and that I answered, ( she caught me off guard to such a deep question, and it was all I could think to say at that moment ) she looked hard at me and said, I think she will be fine ! I looked at her, I could see the shiny glaze of tears in her eyes and she smiled that " it's inevitable " smile at me, and said I know, I feel it too .

Cmon you two Annie shouted as she entered the kitchen! We have a million things to do ( a huge exaggeration of course ) but gave emphasis to the task at hand , Caiti's birthday !
Ana wrote ready and able Annie :) to which my sister said Brillo !
Ted came in and said, right I'm off to get the cake , do you want to come Bren ? You can blow on the windscreen if you fancy a chat :) deadly I wrote and off we went , as we drove to the bakery to collect the cake that Ana and I had chosen for Caiti , Ted said to me , listen Bren, I want to say something to you, I blew on the windscreen and wrote sure Ted ?
Well, he said,you know I'm not a man of many words , and not great when it comes to the feelings and that , ( I smiled to myself , I love that generation, ) but I want you to know, I'll always be there for Caiti, Annie and me, if she needs us, don't get me wrong he said swiftly, we won't be replacing yis ! Not at all ! But I want you to know that ok ?
I was speechless because I knew the man that Ted was , and how much it must have taken for him to speak so heartfelt and open to me ! I blew again and wrote, thanks Ted, that means everything to us, to which I seen him smile slightly , knowing it had been a good thing to say to me! Grand he said, thats sorted then , I'll run in and grab the cake , back in a minute !
As I sat in the car, I smiled to myself, as if for the first time, now understanding why I had really wanted to stay .
Back home preparations were in full flow as we returned with the cake Annie was sweating , but laughing at the same time as Ana directed her on the decorations and the placing of party hats and the like at the table , will teenagers want all that stuff I asked ? Realizing immediately it was the wrong thing to say to Ana , and then quickly tried to cover my tracks by saying the cake looks deadly ! Have a look Ana , she smiled knowing exactly what I was trying to do and wrote Annie can you open the cake so me and Brendan can see it ! Knowing that I hadn't seen it yet either ! I laughed and said your to clever for your own good !
As Annie opened the cake we both stared and smiled ! It was a beautiful cake and looked delicious! But it was the message on it that made us smile , Happy 16th Birthday Caiti ! Hearts never apart .. she would understand it, and know it was our words .

Caiti arrived back from her friends house, where she had been sent while everything was being prepared , and it was visibly clear that she was very happy , thanks Everyone she said as she seen it all ( her friend was with her so it was the only way for her to thank us too :) as the party got into full swing Ana and I stood back and watched as Caiti and all her friends laughed and joked as they ate and drank, talked and sang , danced and enjoyed her special day, very little was said between Ana and I , we just stood, arm in arm smiling and taking in every moment ..

As evening drew in, and one by one the guests began to leave, it was our time together, Annie and Ted came in from the kitchen ( where they had set up camp while the party was in full swing ) and Caiti sat with them at the table , Ana and I stood close to them all, Ana by the tablet to write what we said, it was great party said Caiti ! Thank you all , Dad , Mama your the best ! And auntie Annie uncle Ted , so are you ! Your welcome pet they both said in almost unison, Ana wrote are you happy Caiti ? Caiti as if knowing the true extent of the question answered , I will always miss and love you and dad forever ! And I will never forget all you did for me and how much you loved me ! I will look at your photos everyday and auntie Annie and uncle Ted promised me they will always tell me stories about you whenever I want ! So yes , I am alright , and I think I'll be grand ! No sooner had these words been spoken than a blinding light appeared behind us.. I turned to see our friend from before standing , smiling , he said, your work is done here, say your goodbyes one last time. This time we both nodded Ana wrote , it's our time now, we have to go, they all looked wide eyed and the girls began to cry , I moved to Caiti and embraced her, I turned to look at the man with pleading eyes to which he nodded , knowing the question my eyes were asking , as I embraced Caiti I said, you are the love of our lives Caiti ! She said Dad I can hear you ! We all can said auntie Annie , Ana then embraced Caiti , take care my love and remember all we tried to teach you ! But above all be happy ! And remember what your dad always told you , If anyone says to you " if you loved me you would do it , you tell them, if you loved me you wouldn't ask " I smiled and said group hug to which all of us gathered and held each other one last time , we love you all I said yes we do said Ana .. goodbye my beautiful girl goodbye Mama , goodbye Dad , goodbye sweetheart..
as we began to walk towards the light, the man asked, you achieved what you wished for ? We both looked at each other and said yes, thank you , he smiled and said now for the next chapter ..

THE END :)