Your Memory Will Carry On (Mikey Way)

Epilogue

It's 2022. Almost 20 years after my accident. I am currently sitting in an airport on the way home from something I never thought I'd see again- a My Chemical Romance tour. Mikey sits beside me at the gate in the airport, both of us charging our phones before the flight home.

The final show of the year was played in Vegas, but we are flying to our summer home in Bar Harbor, Maine. We like the quiet there.

I got a text from our 12 year old daughter just then and I quickly opened it since I was already on my phone.

Callie: what time do you get on your plane?
Me: boarding starts in 5ish minutes. Then it's a 6 hour flight so we won't be home until late since there's a time change.
Callie: can I stay awake until you and dad get home?
Me: of course! See you soon! Xoxo

"Callie said she's going to wait up for us tonight." I said to Mikey- pulling him away from a Reddit thread. He smiles.

"That means Minnie probably will too." He says.

Minnie is our 7 year old daughter. Her name is actually Melody, but she is so similar to Mikey in almost every way that he calls her his 'mini-me', therefore— Minnie.

The clerk for the airline announced that boarding will begin at this time, and Mikey and I grab our carry-ons and head into the line. We get on the plane, find our seats in first class, stow our bags, and get comfy.

Mikey puts his hand on my thigh and I put my hand on his. We turn and look at each other. We have both aged so much, but are still young at heart.

"I'm so happy to see you happy." I told him. Watching him tour and being on stage with him these last few months has brought back his fire. Not that he ever really lost it- it just was morphed into different things. I decide to take advantage of the 6 hours without cell phone service to reflect.

I stayed in California with the boys after my accident and watched everybody's apartments for them while they played their first ever tour. They came home and started writing a new album. The boys even utilized my piano skills for a couple features here and there! This album LAUNCHED them into fame. It was absolutely incredible to watch.

I never went back to school. I got into fashion design while the guys were touring and I found my niche. I started my own clothing brand and we produced what I suppose you could call modest swimwear. I drew inspiration from how in my teen years I felt self conscious in a swimsuit because of my scars, so I designed different cuts of swimwear that would accommodate this. As the brand grew we hired different designers with different backgrounds- different medical conditions, religions, all sorts of things! It's my pride and joy.

I went no contact with my mother and I was able to heal from a lot of trauma with the help of a therapist.

My Chemical Romance utilized my piano once again on The Black Parade album, and they even took me on tour with them to play piano live in full Mother War garb. It was a pretty cool live art installation in my opinion. One night, while playing a show in Jersey, Mikey proposed to me on stage! Mikey told me that before the show, he had gone to my fathers grave to ask his permission to marry me. We got married soon after, and Mikey let me have the princess wedding I always dreamed of.

Not long after we got married, Mikey and I decided we wanted to have kids. Soon, we had a beautiful daughter and named her Callie. The guys released Danger Days the same year that she was born, and she was only a few months old when they toured with that album. Post partum hit me pretty hard after having Callie so I really struggled when they toured. Mikey did everything he could on that tour and he took care of me from all over the country.

They came home, the band broke up, Mikey struggled with drug addiction, we had a child, our lives were changing at a pace we couldn't keep up with and we learned a lot together. By not having a fairytale marriage, I think Mikey and I have had a perfect marriage. We can handle anything.

We had another baby, Melody, and the birth nearly killed me, so we decided she would be our last.

Building a life and a family with Mikey by my side has been the biggest blessing I could ever receive. I fall more in love with him every day. He is an amazing man, an amazing husband, and an even better father.

Every day I reflect on how grateful I am to be alive. I have had 3 near death experiences at my ripe age of 40, and I am so grateful to still be here.

The life that I live is so worth living.

Mikey has fallen asleep next to me in his seat, but our hands are still clasped together in my lap.

"I love you." I said to him, even though he was asleep.  I snuggled into my seat, relishing the way his skin felt on mine, and surrounded by the all the love he has encased me in over this wonderful life with him.