Passing the Torch and Other Stories

Morgana spent the morning at Kala's place playing with her
grandson, Arte. They had a great time reading art books and
playing with his peg box, and she made him his favorite food
for lunch.



Her last moments were happy, but the rest of her family may
 never be happy again.

Thornton was overcome with grief upon his beloved wife's
passing. No one realized how much he truly loved Morgana,
but his grief gave ample proof of a deep and abiding affection.

Morgana approached death with a smile on her face, just as she
approached life.

Yet in the end, a life of loving service to her family and
community was reduced to the contents of a golden urn.

The family placed her remains on Wolff point, overlooking the
 bay. She and Thornton always loved to sit out back and  watch
the waves after dinner. Thornton figured with her remains there,
 they would still be able to watch the waves together.

Valerie couldn't bring herself to face what was waiting for her
at home. Tonight was suppose to have been her birthday party,
but she knew that celebrating with the family was out of the
question. Instead she met a friend at the movies and pretended
that nothing unusual was going on. Kendall Wainwright was
all too eager to spend time with his pretty friend. They
discovered that they have a lot in common.

When the time came for her to age-up, Kendall cheered loudly.



She was only too happy to return the favor a moment later when
he was overcome by the sparkles of aging.



In the excitement of the moment they shared their first kiss.

Kendall couldn't believe it. Valerie Wolff had just KISSED him!
HIM! Wow! Kendall had been nursing a crush on Valerie since
elementary school. Eventhough he knew he should put a stop to
this...slow things down before she did something in her grief
that they would both regret later...his soaring heart just wouldn't
let him.

So, when she literally threw herself into his arms a moment
later, all he could think to do was catch her. As he sat her on
her feet and kissed her goodnight he had never been happier.
He wasn't about to do or say ANYTHING that might possibly
alter the course they were currently on. Fate was finally
smiling on him, despite her sad situation, and he would have to
be a very big fool to screw with fate!

When she went home in the wee small hours of the morning,
Valerie gazed out at the stars hoping to find something to
give her hope for the future. When she discovered a new star,
she named it after her new love, convinced that this was a
sign from her dead mother that she was doing the right thing.

When they met at the library the next day, she proposed to him.
He thought he was dreaming as he accepted.

Kendall took her to meet his family that afternoon. His sister,
Blair Frio is a police officer.

Kendall's nephew is named Kevin. Kendall says he looks like
Blair, but has his father, Connor's, red hair. Connor is a journalist
and wasn't home from work yet, but Valerie had seen him on
the news a couple of times. He always seemed to be very
uncomfortable in front of the camera. Kendall says he is
painfully shy, and prefers the company of his books.



Valerie really hit it off with Brenna, and they had a blast playing
 tag in the backyard. Brenna looks like Connor, only with the
white-blonde hair of the Wainwrights.



Around dinner-time the couple headed to Valerie's place so she
could introduce Kendall to her family. When they arrived,
Thornton was at the dinner table eating macaroni and cheese
in his underwear. When he stood to shake Kendall's hand
he had this funny look on his face.

Before he could turn around to grasp Kendall's hand, Thornton
was gone. What's a guy to do when his fiance's father drops
dead upon meeting him?

Her dad seemed almost eager to get going, sure he was going to
be reunited with his wife. The rest of the family was stunned.
To loose him so close to Morgana's passing was too much
for any of them to endure.

Thornton jumped into the afterlife with both feet.

Thornton's remains were placed next to Morgana's overlooking
the bay. At the end of a long life together, the two of them 
can watch the waves long into the eternal night. 

"Kendall, I think we need to talk. After what just happened, I'm
not sure..."

"...you see...I brought you to my home to meet my family and
to get my father's approval. "

"Valerie, you don't really think that your father passing like
he did means that we can't get married. I...I...thought you
were smarter than that! Seriously? I'm OK with you being old
fashioned, it's kind of sweet really, but...Why don't I just talk
to Quillin? He's your oldest brother, right?"



"No. Yes, he is, but...no you can't talk to him about this. Kendall,
I'm sorry. I should never have gotten engaged to you to begin
with. I had just lost my mom, and now my dad. I thought...well
It doesn't really matter what I thought. I was obviously wrong.
I know that my mother wanted me to marry and be happy,
like she and dad were. I thought this was what she would
have wanted for me. But she would never have wanted
something for me that dad didn't want also. Please, just go.
It's over. I just can't do this."



Devastated by this turn of events, Kendall headed home to have
 a talk with his own mother. "Mom, Valerie and I are over. We
went over to her place so that I could meet her family and her
dad just dropped dead as she was getting up to shake my hand.
She was inconsolable, and I...didn't know what to say or do.
The wedding is definitely off."

"I heard her dad died today, son, and her mother just yesterday.
She's been through so much in the last couple of days. I
guess her intro to adulthood hasn't been an easy one. I'm
sure if you just give her some time, to recover from the

grief she will be back to normal. You shouldn't abandon her
 now, and you shouldn't expect her not to grieve. If you walk
away from her when she needs you, she will never
forgive you, son."

 

"That's not it, mom. She broke up with me. When her dad died
she took it as some kind of sign that we shouldn't be together.
You know how I feel about her...how I've always felt about
her. I would never walk out on her like this." Kendall could
tell by the look on his mother's face exactly what she
was thinking.



"Wow! From everything I've heard about Valerie Wolff, I would
have thought her smarter than that."