Memorıes Lıke These

Epilogue

"Grandpa!"

I turned my head in the direction of the small, high pitched voices and grinned as my three young grandchildren ran at me with their arms spread out wide. "Hey, grandpa!"

I wrapped them all in a hug. "Hey, kiddos!"

They giggled and escaped my deathly hug. I looked up at my daughter, Kelly, as she walked into the lounge smiling. "Hey, dad. How are you?"

I gave her a hug, much lighter than the one I had given her kids. "Good! Great to see you all!"

"Hello, all!" Lucy cried from beside me. "Good to see you!"

"Hey, mum." Kelly smiled, giving her a hug as well.

I felt a tug on my trouser leg and I looked down to see Nathan grinning up at me. "Grandpa, can you take us to the water park?"

"The water park? Well, why on earth do you want to go there?" I said in mock surprise.

"To go swimming, silly!" Chelsea laughed.

"But I don't want to go swimming." I said.

"No!" Tyler laughed. "We do!"

"Oh!" I cried then winked. "Alright, alright. Is it alright with mum?"

I looked up at Kelly who was looking desperately at me as if to say 'please take them away'. I ushered all three of them out the door.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few hours!" I called out to Kelly and Lucy as I shut the front door. Chelsea, Nathan ran to my car and jumped in the back seat. Tyler sat in the front. I pulled my old self down the driveway and into the drivers seat. I made sure everyone was belted up and had their swimming gear before I turned on the engine.

The radio came on and Chelsea instantly requested I put it on her favourite station.

"What's wrong with mine?" I cried.

"It's old!" They all chorused.

"Oh, come on now. All the best things are old! Just look at me."

They all giggled as I pulled out of the driveway and into the road.

"Come on, grandpa! Change the station!" Chelsea cried.

"Alright, alright." I said with an exasperated sigh that made them all giggle again. I was about to change the station when a familiar beat echoed throughout the car. The mixture of a keyboard and a guitar. The beat I knew all too well.

"We'll do it all, everything, on our own."

My hand hovered over the radio dial and I stopped the car. I could feel my grandchildren's eyes on me and I turned up the volume so that the tune of Chasing Cars filled the car.

"Grandpa?" Chelsea asked. "What's this song?"

"If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

"Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol." I said, snapping out of my nostalgic daze and answering her question.

"Who's that?" Tyler asked.

"They were big when I was young. This song meant a lot to me." I said, looking over at them.

"Was it your favourite song?" Nathan asked.

"It was. I went to their concert, you know."

Their eyes all went wide. "Woah, really? Tell us about it!" They cried.

I smiled at the memory. "It was one of the best nights of my life. I went with a friend of mine. A very important friend."

"Was it grandma?" Tyler asked.

"No, it was before I met grandma. No this girl was called Lorna." I said giving a small smile, just her name sent a hundred memories flooding through my mind.

"Was she your best friend?" Chelsea asked.

I chuckled. "She was. She was amazing. We met that summer and we spent every single minute that we could of every single day together. We used to sing this song to each other."

"All that I am, all that I ever was, is here in your perfect eyes. They're all I can see."

"What happened to her?" Nathan asked.

My smile faltered. "She left a long time ago."

"I kind of like this song." Chelsea said, resting her head in her hands. "Tell us more about Lorna. What was she like?"

"God, she was really something. Really outgoing. Nothing scared her! She would do the craziest things!" I laughed. Chelsea laughed too. "But she was great, she really was. Best friend I ever had. I'll never forget her."

"Did you love her?" Chelsea asked, her eyes lighting up.

"I did. I really did. More than anything." I said. The song finished and I turned the volume down again. It had been years since I heard that song.

"Where did she go?" Tyler asked. "Why didn't you marry her?"

"Because we weren't meant to get married. We weren't meant to stay together forever. She's somewhere special, somewhere safe. Somewhere happy."

"Maybe you'll see her again? Maybe you can be friends again and sing your song." Chelsea grinned.

I started the engine again and looked up at the sky. "You know what, I actually think we will."

The end