His Hope

Part 24: Begin Again

24

Xavier held Louisa's hand as she sat beside him in the grass, so he could introduce her to his friend. "Ronnie, this amazing woman beside me is Louisa Mercier. Louisa this is Ronald Versace."

Louisa laid the bouquet of daisies she had brought along, down in front of the headstone. "Hi Ronald," she smiled softly, placing her hand on the name etched into the cement. She had sat quietly under a tree reading, while Xavier spent time with a friend he had not been around to see in a while.

"I hope you don't mind me calling you Ronald, as I have made a promise to myself to call all of Xavier's friends by their given name, purely to piss the lot of them off." She smiled when Xavier threw his head back and let out a boisterous laugh beside her. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before asking if she could have a minute alone.

Xavier nodded, standing he placed a hand on Ronnie's headstone and said a silent prayer before kissing Louisa's head and walking a good distance away from the two. He swallowed hard when he faintly heard her sweet voice being carried along with the wind around them.

"I'm sorry we had to meet like this, but I feel very lucky that I've gotten to know a part of you, that lives on in your friends. You sound like an amazing man, who lived a good life. I just wanted you to know that Xavier, Sebastian, and Aiden are okay, they all carry the weight of that night with them... but I think, at least I hope, that weight lessens a little more each day." Louisa talked to the man as if she was talking to an old friend. She knew somewhere he was listening and hoped that he could find peace too if he hadn't already.

Xavier closed his eyes as he listened to the love of his life let his lost friend know they were going to be okay. He didn't know how he had gotten so lucky to have found such a sweet soul, but he cherished it every day. After another 10 minutes or so, he heard Louisa call out to him. He turned towards her and stopped in his tracks. The sun was shining down on her glistening pale skin, just like it had the day he bumped into her in town. His breath hitched as the light reflected off of Ronnies tombstone, flicking once as if winking before it disappeared. "You son of a bitch," Xavier chuckled to himself in disbelief.

Louisa walked towards him, her face weathered with concerned. When she reached Xavier, she laced her fingers with his own, finding a lazy smile replaced the shocked look he wore only moments ago. She sent him a questioning glance as if to say 'what is it?', but he only shook his head and smiled, so she let it go.

"Come now, it's your turn." Xavier squeezed her hand as he led her to the other side of the cemetery. The particular cemetery they were in ran across the state line between Connecticut and Massachusetts.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Xavier asked her as she stared ahead at the plot she had only seen one time, 5 years ago.

"Would you?" She asked and again he guided her towards their destination. She licked her dry lips, her nerves washing over her, but Xavier squeezed her hand and she calmed instantly. Taking a step forward, she knelt down in front of another tombstone, placing a bouquet of white lilies in front of it.

"Hi, dad." She ran her fingers over her last name, before dropping it into her lap completely. "I know it's been a long time since I last saw you, I'm sorry about that." She started, taking a shaky breath.

"I've been going over what I might say to you for some time now, years really. For a long time, I thought if I came here I would only yell or say things to hurt you. Then there were times that I wondered if hurting you was worth it, or if it would only make me like you." Louisa sniffled, and for the first time didn't try to keep her tears at bay while in her father's presence. "It wasn't until just recently that I had an epiphany."