Mrs. Smith woke up to the early rays of the sun against the window she faced. She woke up with disheveled hair, mascara-stained eyes, smudged lipstick, and wrinkled clothes.
After a few seconds, she sat upright wondering for a brief moment what she was doing in her daughter's room, "oh!" She said after finally collecting that she came to comfort her daughter to sleep, and she fell asleep beside Audrey right after.
It was a Sunday and it was the day after her husband's funeral, she had to welcome guests who had come to pay their last respects to the deceased.
For someone who had given her daughter comfort the previous night, she lost herself on how to cope. She didn't know where to start regarding their family and the decisions they would have to make from now on.
"Somehow, I have to find the strength to continue living for both of us," she said messing her makeup by crying. Removing her hands from her daughter's arm, she was about to clean the lone tear that fell absentmindedly when she noticed her daughter stir from her sleep.
She sniffed and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to clean all evidence of her short moment of sulking over the loss of her husband.
"Mom!" Audrey called in a hoarse voice, "yes sweet heart" Georgia answered her daughter, as if comprehending that her mother had been crying while she was still asleep, Audrey said," mom, we can't continue to weep like this, the bitter truth which we will come to understand is that dad is gone, to a better place, so please mom, let's just live for ourselves".
Everything Audrey said wasn't disregarded by her mother, instead, she was open to her daughter's notion, " yes my love, I think we should do just that, living for ourselves, we'll visit his grave at least twice a month for closure, agreed?" Georgia asked her daughter as she smoothed the hair on Audrey's head.
"Yes mom, I agree with your idea, let's do just that" Audrey answered her mother. "Now honey, let's go get ready, visitors would be here soon," Georgia said.
The duo stood up from the bed arranging the room and laying the sheets to be smooth. Georgia who was born into a decent family prioritized neatness In her home.
It was this same virtue, she instilled in her daughter, to prioritize neatness. They arranged the house and got everything to receive the guests.
Their apartment was one with two bedrooms, two toilets, one big living room, and a kitchen. Because of their tight budget, Georgia and Audrey decided to make snacks for those who came to visit them.
They soon finished the snacks by distributing tasks, in an attempt to finish faster. In a short period, they were able to complete the snacks and proceed to prepare themselves.
They decided to settle for dull colors since the present mood was not something to be joyful about. The women freshened up and put on their clothes, ready to receive the guests.
The guests soon started visiting, bringing them gifts as a way to empathize with the family of the deceased. Among these gifts were food items, and other souvenirs which they thought could convey their heartfelt apologies to the family which experienced the unexpected loss.
Some guests gifted them with monetary values. Among the guests that came to pay their condolences, were Mr. Smith's colleagues at work, apart from the gifts that they had to offer, they had very helpful advice for the wife of the deceased.
"You know, I don't know if your husband ever had any conversations concerning his pension plan with you, but he did have a pension plan, maybe you could swing by the company later to get the money, it could be of great help to your kid," a man from the group said
"He did tell me of a pension plan… before he died that was our plan for our daughter's college fees," Georgia said, pausing a little she continued, " Thank you for reminding me".
After their brief conversation, Georgia attended to the other guests. Soon after, the crowd who had come to pay their respects to the family of the deceased dispersed one by one.
Following the session they conducted in their apartment, Audrey and Georgia were left to clean the living room, while cleaning, Georgia decided to have a serious conversation with her daughter
"Audrey, it's just me and you now dear, I see no point in lying or keeping things from you. You see, while your late father's colleagues were here, they reminded me of a pension plan which I and your father had planned to use for your college tuition"
Audrey who had thought about that area and brushed the thought off felt elated hearing the awesome news from her mother hugging her mother, she said" I'm going to college" she said excitedly pulled from the hug to only jump around the room in glee, shouting, "I'm going to college!!!!, I'm going to college!!!"
Her mother smiled seeing the outburst of happiness from her daughter. Smiling warmly she said, alright that's enough, let's go see your father, and maybe when I'm coming back from work one of this days, I'll see the director"," okay mom", Audrey said grabbing her coat, and her phone, and the keys. "Wait up!!" Georgia exclaimed chuckling seeing her daughter who had the biggest smile she had ever seen.
Since they had no form of private transport, they took a bus headed to the place they had been the previous day.
They bought his favorite flowers, Primroses, they walked in silence to his headstone. The lively mood between the two soon turned sour when Audrey burst into tears just after seeing the headstone and the freshly covered grave.
They conveyed their messages to him, telling him about their day and everything that happened while they received the visitors. They recollected their words to the headstone the same way they would when he was alive.