Love Without You

stories and it helped to be together and talk and share. She listened as her Mother told her about her fears of being single again and how she didn't want to live alone and she could understand things about her Mother that she had never understood before. Everything that she and Josh had talked about after her dad died they had just about discussed and she had plenty to tell Josh. When they finished eating her Mother surprised her and told her she wanted to go home and lay down and rest a while.

Chapter 6 - Asprin, Please!
    When they went in it was very lonely and they both started to cry but as they sat and talked it got better and her Mother assured her that she would be all right. It was something she had to do to get used to it. There were tons of cards and letters in the mail and she told Jessica she would go through the mail and then maybe lie down a while and rest. Jessica thought better about leaving but knew eventually she would have to so it might as well be now. So after many tears she left and went home.
    Josh wasn't home when she got there so she went in and started dinner. She had just started the salad and as she let the lettuce drain she decided she would take something for her head and lay down for a few minutes before Josh got home. There was so much going through her head and she knew how her Mom must feel. She went to sleep the minute her head hit the pillow. Josh woke her up by nuzzling her ear and spreading kisses down her neck. He had finished dinner before he woke her so she didn’t have anything left to do. They lay there together and talked a while and then they got up and went out to the patio and ate by candle light. It was such a pleasant evening and the breeze from the ocean seemed to cleanse her mind. The candle light flickered and brought shadows that danced into the night. It was very romantic but it was more than that. It was security and comfort that Jessica needed. It was love and she knew how lucky she was to have found Josh especially now. It was mutual respect that would take them through their life when they had bad times. This was something not many people could find no matter how long they looked.
    The next morning she called her Mom who had a pretty good night considering. She said she wandered through the house, opened the mail and finally took some aspirin and went to bed and cried herself to sleep but she knew it would get better as the days went by. She said she wondered if it was better to die real quick like he did or to get to say your goodbyes before you go. Jessica could sympathize with her but didn't know how to help her. The sad thing about it was it went on like this for almost two weeks and then one night it go t better, not great but better.
    The wedding was coming soon and so were the holidays. She couldn't imagine the holidays without her Dad and neither could her Mother. She thought about cancelling the wedding and then she thought about the promise she made to her Dad and she knew that she would have to go through with it. She didn't want to cancel it just postpone it for a while. But they couldn't and they both knew it.
    The invitations went out as planned and they decided on a small but lively party with just enough of the right people to keep the night alive with laughter and good humor. Jessica placed a small picture of her Dad in her bouquet in a charm and her Mother gave her away. It was a moment that was a breath taking event but they got through it. Josh had never seen Jessica look as beautiful as she did that day.
    The back yard was filled with tiny lights that blinked like fire flies in the night and the moon shone over the water as the light danced across the waves. It was perfect and Jessica and Josh became husband and wife under the watchful eye of her Father from up above. It was all so exciting it was hard to be sad about him not being there and then she thought he wouldn't want her to be sad and it was true. He would want her to be happy. After all this would be her only wedding and she shouldn't waste it, so they danced and danced. Long into the night they danced. The guests stayed and ate and danced and a good time was had by all. Even her Mother had a good time dancing with her uncles and cousins and it proved to her that she could still have a good time. It was a definite hit and talked about for months afterwards.

Chapter 7 - Expecting the Unexpected!
    For their honeymoon Josh and Jessica just took 3 days and went to stay in the