• "No!" Maye Peters shrieked at the top of her lungs. She fell to her knees and sobbed. Her mother, Madge, knelt down to her broken daughter and caressed her head and whispered in her ear. Soon, Maye's sobs turned into shrieks of anguish. Madge held her daughter tighter, praying that this could all dissolve so that her only daughter could be happy again. Tears cascaded down her own cheeks now.

    Madge looked back to the phone call she had just recieved:

    "Hello?"

    "Is this Maye?" asked a soft voice. The voice sounded sad and weary.

    "No, this is her mother, Madge. How may I help you?"

    "Oh, hello, Madge. You and Maye sound so alike on the phone. This is Kitty Ramley, James' mom...Madge, James is gone."

    The world turned upside down. Madge panicked. Her heart began to beat and her breathing quickened. "No," she whispered.

    "Yes," replied Kitty. Kitty began to cry.

    "What happened, Kit?" asked Madge.

    "He was on that motorcycle of his. It crashed into a semi...there was an explosion..." There was no need for Kitty to continue. Madge got the picture.

    "I guess we had better call Daddy," said Maye after a while.

    "I did, sweetheart. He's on his way home now," replied Madge. Bill Peters worked for Edison as a lawyer. He was in his office when he got the call from his wife. He made for home immediately.

    "Then I have more to do...I have to call the church...the caterer...the bridesmaids...I have to cancel..." she mumbled.

    "Maye, honey, take it one step at a time. You have time, baby, just rest."

    "I can't," said a weak Maye.

    "You sure can," insisted Madge, leading her daughter to her room and having her lay down on the bed. She kissed her daughter on the forehead and ran her hands through Maye's long auburn hair. "Get some rest, baby," she whispered.

    Maye lay in her bed and thought back to the night that James told her that he loved her.

    "You like it, baby?" he asked her, as he took off the blindfold. She opened her eyes and looked upon a pink blanket in the green meadow grass. Two blue candles sat in the middle. A brown basket sat at the corner of the blanket. James took her small hand in his large one and sat her down on the blanket.

    "I love it, sweetheart," she said, as she pressed her lips against his and kissed him deeply and passionately.

    He drew back after a minute. "That was one hot kiss," he said with a playful smile on his face. "I have to tell you something, baby," he said, looking into her big green eyes.

    "What?" she breathed.

    "Maye Peters, I love you. I love you with all of my heart. You are the half that makes me whole. I love you."

    Maye was shocked. Her mouth gaped. Her eyes widened. "You what?"

    "I love you. I love you, Maye."

    Maye took James' hand in hers and he pulled her closer to him. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you too," she whispered in his ear. She turned to face him, looking into his eyes. He ran a hand over her cheek and then burried it in her hair. He drew her head closer and kissed her with every passion that he had.

    As Maye thought back on that beautiful night, she began to cry again. First, they were small sobs, then, loud, wrenching sobs filled the room. As Madge poked her head into the room and saw her daughter curled up into a ball, shaking, her heart broke fifty times over.