| Chapter 3 - Tea and Biscuits "You alright love? You look a little pale?" My mum looked at me sympathetically, as I sat down on the couch. "Yeah, I'm ok - just been visiting Nicky." "Oh...oh right." My mum went quiet. "It's 2 years you know, 2 years since the accident." "Oh love, I'm sorry. I should've remembered." My Mum came and sat next to me, placing her arm around me. "I lay some roses down." "Oh Charlotte. He'd like that - the roses I mean. How are you feeling - If you want to talk about it, I'm always here for you - you know that." Mum hugged me, and all of a sudden I found myself crying again."Mum....when's it going to get better? I really miss him Mum....I miss him so much."I continued to cry on my mothers shoulder. "It will get better, it will. It just takes time, that's all....time." "I know....I don't know why I'm crying....I just..." "It's alright dear, I'll go and make you a cup of tea - that'll cheer you up." I nodded, and my mother went through to the kitchen.I'd stopped crying by the time my mother returned. She was carrying a tray, with 2 cups of tea, and a tin of biscuits on it. "Are you okay now?" "Yeah, sorry Mum - I guess it all was too much." "It's okay. Here, here's your tea." She handed me my cup, and sat down. I took a sip of tea. "Mmmm, this is nice - it's warming me up already!" "Good! Like a biscuit?" "Yeah, go on then - why not!" As I reached in to the biscuit tin, I remembered that day, when I was helping Nicky to unpack his things, and put them in his bedroom. It's was just after he'd moved in nextdoor. We'd stopped for a break, and he'd made us tea. As I had reached in to the tin, for a biscuit, my hand touched his....I remembered his gaze in to my eyes...we'd both paused, not knowing what to do.... "Charlotte....are you going to take a biscuit?!" I looked up, to see my Mum struggling to hold the tin for any longer. "Sorry! Was just thinking about something." I took a biscuit, and my Mum put down the tin at last.We drank our tea, and watched television for a while. "I met a man today Mum, at the cemetery." "Oh yes?" "Yeah, I was sitting at Nicky's grave, crying. He came over to see if I was alright. He was very nice....couldn't have been that old...about the same age as me, or a year or two older. He looked about 19." "Same age as you then?" "Yes. He was visiting a grave too - he was telling me that eventually the hurt does go away....he lost someone close to him." "Oh....what, a girlfriend?" "I'm not sure, he didn't say. He was a bit strange really....nice enough, but strange." "In what way...?" "I don't know, can't quite put my finger on it. He wasn't very...open. You know - seemed to care, and show an awful lot of interest in me, and making me feel better, but didn't reveal much about himself." "Maybe he felt uncomfortable talking about it.." "Maybe. After he left me though, I ran to catch up with him, but he was gone. Thing is Mum....where could he have gone? I didn't see him anywhere." "Oh Charlotte....he probably ran home or something...." "Yeah. But I never got a chance to thank him, for stopping me cry." "Maybe you will." "I hope so - there was something different about him - like I could just open up to him, talk about Nicky and his death at ease, without feeling grief." "Maybe it was because he too had lost someone." "Maybe. I don't know - he seemed to understand me..." "Well, that's nice dear - just be careful..you know.." "Yes Mum, I know. It just seemed that..." "What?" "That he knew more about me than he let on." |