Subj: The Birthday Gift Part 6
Date: 5/10/00 1:30:30 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Daphne

Postlude
April 23, 2000

Arianna walked quietly through Eagle Hill Cemetery, clutching the bouquet of yellow roses tightly as she gingerly stepped between the tombstones. It seemed almost a desecration of the graves to be moving among them, but there was one last thing she had to do before she left Collinsport. It wouldn't seem right to leave without saying goodbye....after all, Quentin had given her that respect when she was a child. It wouldn't be fair to not extend the same courtesy to him now, after all this time had passed. She had always visited him on his birthday, anyway; as she came to the end of the path, she could see his tombstone, and paused before going further. He had been buried in a simple grave, beneath the weeping willow that stood at the edge of the cemetery and there was a smaller, unmarked tombstone next to his that she had always assumed was Beth's. She didn't understand how her family could have possibly known about Beth, or where she had been buried, but it made her feel better to think that they were together both physically and spiritually. She had never asked the caretaker about who the unmarked grave belonged to; instead, Arianna chose to believe that Quentin and Beth rested side by side for eternity. She laid the flowers on both of the graves and sat between them, leaning against the gnarled tree as she contemplated her surroundings. She'd always felt that cemeteries were peaceful places, and death had never truly frightened her. Not since Quentin had come to her all those years before to tell her goodbye.

Goodbye...it was something she had to say now, and as she thought of the journey she was about to embark on, Arianna felt confused by the bittersweet combination of emotions she was now experiencing. "Quentin, I can't believe that 20 years have passed since you left...it doesn't really feel like it's been that long," she began, her voice choked with tears. "Can you believe I'm getting married tomorrow? I hardly can. I can't believe the nine months of our engagement are already over- all the wedding plans have really kept Mother and me on our toes, but it's been so much fun. I really wish you could meet Jason. I know you would have liked him and he reminds me a lot of you. He's so kind and sweet to me, and he makes me feel like I'm the most special person in the world. I don't think I deserve him....actually, I know I don't, but he's the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I can't imagine my life without him. I admire your strength Quentin. To have lived without Beth must have been so painful for you. I understand that now that I have Jason in my life...I wouldn't even want to live without him...it just took falling in love for me to totally appreciate the beauty of what happened the night you left. You know, I really can't remember much about my life at that point, but I've never forgotten meeting Beth, or how happy you were to be with her. Mother says that when I look at Jason, she can tell that he's the only one I see, and I think I know what she means. It's like everything else just fades away, and we're the only two people in the world. That's the way the two of you looked at each other when you came to tell me goodbye, I think. I owe everything I ever learned about love to you and Beth, and to my parents. I just wish you could be there with me...it's going to be so beautiful. It's all very formal and I'm wearing Mother's gown. I've never felt beautiful before in my whole life, but I do when I put on that dress....I just hope I don't cry. There are going to be about a hundred people there. Jason's family is from Kentucky, so everyone's been coming into town all week and it's getting crazy back at Collinwood. At least we have plenty of space for all the guests, but it's just so noisy with everyone talking at once. I needed to get away for a little while. Besides, it wouldn't have felt right leaving you without saying goodbye. After our honeymoon we're going to move to Dallas...he's been offered a job with the NFL and it's what he's always wanted to do with his life, so I'm very proud of him. I don't know when I'll get back to visit you again, so I wanted you to know that I love you and I always will, no matter where I go. Happy birthday, Quentin." Unable to contain her tears any longer, Arianna covered her face with her hands and sobbed, the whispering wind the only other sound as it caressed the trees. Jason watched her from the edge of the cemetery, wishing there was something he could do to ease her pain. She was his life, and because he loved her so much, her grief hurt him as much as it hurt her. She'd only spoken briefly of her cousin to him, and he suspected that Quentin's death had affected her much more deeply than she had ever admitted to anyone. He wondered if he should let her mourn in private but before he could make up his mind, she looked up and saw him.

"It's alright Jason, I'm o.k." She met him at the gate, and he embraced her. His love surrounded her and she felt the heartache lessen, to be replaced with the overwhelming joy she found in loving Jason. "I'm fine, darling as long as you're here with me."

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, not wanting to push her into leaving if she wanted to stay with Quentin for a while longer.

"I think so. I came to say goodbye, and I've done that. I'm ready now." They walked along the path that led back to the car hand in hand, she stopped and stood perfectly still, thinking that she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning back toward the cemetery, Arianna thought she saw a faint outline of a man walking among the tombstones toward a woman who was waiting for him at the end of the path. The wind suddenly picked up, but instead of the rustling of
the trees, she heard the voice of her best friend....

We're proud of you and Jason, Ari, and we love you both. Beth and I will always be with you, no matter where you are...

"Thank you, Quentin. We love you both too."

"What is it darling? Are you ok?" Jason asked, worried that she was still upset, but as she turned to him, he could have sworn that he heard the voice too, and felt stunned when he realized that perhaps Quentin had been there with them the whole time.

"Yes, I'm wonderful, Jason. He was here with us just now. I know he was."

As they drove off in silence, Arianna felt at peace with herself and her place in the universe. She took comfort in knowing that she and Jason would always be together, even in death, just as Quentin and Beth had been. The circle of love and of life would be once again renewed at their wedding ceremony, and they would begin the same journey that Quentin and Beth had completed on the cold April night twenty years earlier.

Thank you, Quentin and Beth for giving me the most perfect gift of all - thank you for showing me the meaning of true love, she thought to herself. And in her heart, she knew that she and Jason would never walk life's path alone...

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