It Ain't Me, Babe. 》cth

Epilogue

"So what happened after that?" 

"Lot's of things happened after that, dear. We made memories, we had the time of our lives, we fought... a lot. But we could never stay mad at each other for long." I smirk.

"It can't just end like that, grandma. It can't just end with you guys leaving each other in L.A., I mean what about the rest of your lives? That can't just be it." My granddaughter, Sarah, whines. She's about fifteen now, and she's desperate to know all of the sappy details that I'm willing to provide. I guess there's something that seems so romantic about hearing the love story of your grandparents. 

"That's not just it, sweetheart. That was only just the beginning." I grin deviously, remembering all the details of my life with Calum. Remembering all the times that we got into to trouble together, all the times we fought, all the times that we fell in love with each other over and over again. 

"Then why is the story over?" Sarah pouts, tears stinging her eyes. On a normal day, I would've rolled my eyes at my teenage granddaughter for getting so upset over a story like this, but this is no normal day. This day is far from normal. I don't blame her for crying because tears threaten to spill from my eyes as well. 

"It's far from over, Sarah. But I'm afraid that I don't have enough life left myself to tell you everything. That would take awhile." It would take another lifetime to tell her everything, there's too much to tell. I'm too old for a story that long. 

She nods her head, sniffling. I can tell she feels a bit ridiculous for crying over silly old story, but she's not to blame. She just wanted more time... we all wanted more time with him. 

I glance down at Calum, and he looks at peace. I almost envy him; actually, I do envy him. His once dark locks are now faded to gray, his skin isn't as soft and ripe as it once was, but he's still beautiful. He'll always be that same beautiful boy in my eyes. A tear rolls down my cheek, but I'm not as sad as I always thought I'd be. I'm happy for him. I always hoped that I would go before him so that I wouldn't have to bear the loss. In fact, I always thought I would go before him anyway, especially since my diagnosis. Treatments stopped helping a while ago, and I had been thinking that it was just a waiting game for me. But it turns out that he was ready to go before I was.

He's at peace with his life, and now he can go back to being young again. I bet he's playing his bass guitar right now. He hasn't been able to pick that thing up in years, and he complained about it daily. I grin at the thought while another tear cascades down my cheek. 

Sarah's finger swipes the tear from my cheek as she hugs me. 

"Why did he have to go, grandma?" Sobs wrack her body, and I feel a tremendous amount of guilt. I wish that I could take her sadness. I wish she could see this as I do, and be at peace with it. 

"It was just his time, sweetheart." I whisper, patting her smooth hair. It's sticking up in certain areas, and on any other day she'd throw a fit about her appearance. 

"Aren't you sad?" She looks at me incredulously, confused about why I'm so calm. 

"Of course I'm sad. I'm going to miss him, and I look forward to being with him again. It's just... you wouldn't understand it right now, sweetie. When you're my age, you will. I promise that you will. I hug Sarah a little tighter, well as tightly as I can. I'm not as strong as I once was. 

"Mom?" Olivia's voice appears behind Sarah and I, and she places a hand on each of our shoulders. 

"Yes?" I smile softly at her, hoping to reassure her that I'm perfectly fine with today's circumstances. It's her that I'm worried about, her and everyone else. My kids are having a hard time adjusting to their fathers passing, and my grandchildren are having an even harder time.