This is a repost from when I was on here under a different username.
Paul Harrison sat in his favourite armchair, he watched with sadness at the snow gently falling outside. He wasn't sad about the weather. It was the first Christmas in years he could recall it snowing, it was also the first Christmas without his beloved wife, Vanessa. His wife passed away six months ago.
Vanessa, the woman he fell in love with when they were teenagers. Paul closed his eyes and thought back to better times. He remembered how their families reacted when they announced they were getting married, both of them only nineteen years old. Their parents said they were too young, didn't know what love was, and all the usual excuses. The only person who supported them was Paul's grand-mother, Edith Harrison.
Edith called a family conference, both sets of parents were told to attend. Even at the age of eighty-two, Edith still scared the living daylights out of people. Paul and Vanessa sat on the sofa holding hands. Their parents and Edith sat around her dining table. Edith listened as the parents rolled out every excuse you could find to stop the marriage, when she stood every one fell silent.
"So you think they are too young to know what love is, I say you are talking rubbish. I want to remind you that I was seventeen when I married my late husband, we had sixty-five years together. I was a mother to four children by the time I was twenty-five, don't you dare suggest they are too young. If you four cannot see how in love they are then you're all blind."
"But they are so young." Paul's mother interrupted.
"Rubbish!" Edith screeched at her daughter-in-law. "If you won't give your blessing for them to be married, that's your loss. If they want to marry, they will. I'll pay for it myself to save you killjoys the expense."
Paul almost smiled as he thought of the look on his fathers face, he wouldn't dare argue with his mother. Eventually the parents agreed they could marry, despite this nobody expected it to last. As a wedding present Edith bought Paul and Vanessa a house, this caused another round of disagreements. Edith said her piece, after that it was never mentioned again.
"Thanks to my late husband being careful and clever with his investments, I have more money than I could ever spend. The last thing they need is a millstone of a mortgage around their necks."
When Vanessa found out she was pregnant they offered to name the child after Edith.
"Don't you dare. That child deserves a name for these times, Edith is like me, as old as the hills."
They settled on the name Millie. Millicent was Edith's middle name.
Millie was to be their only child as Vanessa had a difficult pregnancy and delivery problems, the doctors advised the couple against any further children. Paul qualified as an accountant, Vanessa became a stay at home Mum. The only sad moment in their lives was when Edith passed away, she absolutely doted on her great granddaughter.
When Millie started school Vanessa worked part time. When Millie was seven Paul struck out and started working for himself, over the years he looked after several businesses. He saved them money on their taxes, he also advised people on investments.
Financially they were doing very well. This allowed Vanessa to follow her dream of watercolour painting, a talent that she passed to their daughter. Millie was a good student, she enjoyed school and excelled in most of her classes. She had her fathers head for figures, and her mothers flair for art, particularly painting.
Their idyllic lifestyle was shattered when Vanessa was diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately it was pancreatic cancer, by the time it was diagnosed, it was too late. Paul and Millie, who was now nineteen, sat with Vanessa throughout her final days. They were both at her bedside when she passed away, Paul held one hand as Millie held the other.
When Vanessa passed away Paul sat in the chair and cried. Millie joined her father, she sat on his lap. They hugged and cried together. Millie loved her mother, she knew this would be extremely hard for her Dad to deal with.
The weather on the day of Vanessa's funeral added to Paul's mood. It was bad enough that he was saying his last goodbye to the love of his life, the weather was cold and raining. Paul and Millie stood together as they supported each other, many of Vanessa's friends attended, unable to believe that someone so young had been taken away. It didn't help when both sets of elderly parents kept telling Paul it was God's will and that everything will be okay. He wanted to scream out that it wasn't okay, and God could stuff his will up his arse.
Paul was snapped back to reality by a soothing voice and calming hand on his shoulder.
"Come on Dad, dinner's ready, come and eat." Millie looked at Paul, she knew her Dad was hurting. She was hurting, but tried to put a brave face on things.
Paul sat across from Millie, he picked at the plate of food in front of him. Millie reached out and held his hand.
"I miss her too, Dad. We have to carry on, it's what Mum would have wanted. Please try and eat something." Millie was almost in tears herself.
Christmas was always special to them. Since Millie had started earning her own money she always bought her parents a gift. It was nothing glamorous or ridiculously expensive, a gift that they would appreciate. Three years ago Millie gave Vanessa a watercolour painting, it was a copy of a photograph from their wedding day. Paul and Vanessa loved it, so much so that they hung it in the lounge for everyone to see.
Paul looked across at his daughter, the spitting image of her mother. Long dark brown hair, high cheekbones and deep grey eyes. He compared Millie to her mother, they even had the same smile and infectious laugh. When Millie stood up to go and get the dessert, Paul watched her move about. She even had her mothers figure, tall with long legs, a slim waist and cute tight bottom. Paul knew his late wife's bust was 36c, looking at Millie she appeared to be the same size. Paul sighed quietly, no matter what his daughter was a constant reminder of her mother.
Millie served the dessert, she looked across at her Dad. He was still a handsome man, he had a few grey hairs on his temple. Millie knew the stress of her mothers illness and subsequent death were the cause of the few grey hairs.
After clearing away the dinner things they went through to the lounge. Paul slumped into his armchair, Millie sat on the sofa. Millie knew by her Dads manner that he wasn't in the mood to talk. In the past when Vanessa was alive they would have spent the rest of the day talking or playing board games. Millie picked up a book she had started reading, Paul relaxed and closed his eyes.
As Millie sat reading she kept glancing up at her Dad, several times he looked as if he was struggling not to burst into tears. Millie went to get herself a glass of wine, she poured Paul a glass of his favourite scotch whisky.
"Thank you." Paul replied, as Millie handed him the glass.
"Will David be coming to see you later?" Paul asked.
"No Dad. David won't be coming here anymore." Millie replied quietly.
