Bebe stared at the bottle of nectar.  Brad had brought her and Asa it back from his most recent trip to France.  They hadn’t even had time to open it yet.

Then they got the news.

Bebe poured the nectar into glasses for everyone to share.  It was what he would have wanted; nectar had been his passion, and to see his family sharing one of his finds would have been his perfect evening in.

If only he could be there to share it with them.

Brad, her eldest boy, was gone.  Bebe still hadn’t quite gotten her head around it.  She had carried him, had held him when he was a baby, had fed and changed him… and now he was no longer here, and she was young, healthy… and pregnant.

She knew he hadn’t wanted the life she had, an eternal youth.  She knew he was happy.  He had a thriving business that was still making him a profit long after he retired from the day-to-day running of it.  He had a wonderful girlfriend.  He had two gorgeous homes, both in Sunset Valley and in Champs-les-Sims.  Brad Populous had died after a long, full and satisfying life.  But even though Bebe could tell herself these things over and over, it didn’t change the fact that her child was gone.  It didn’t numb the howling, searing pain that enveloped her.  She had known this day would come, but now it was here, it was a terrible thing, almost too hard to bear.

Bebe decided to hold the funeral at home.  It would take the pressure of Autumn, Brad’s partner, who was getting older and frailer herself.

All of Bebe’s children attended, and all were heartbroken.  Gail couldn’t believe he had gone, and she was worried her mother was in denial.  She asked Bebe if she was sure she wanted to keep going through this – it would only get worse the longer she lived, and the more children she saw grow old and die.  But Bebe was too afraid of the ageing process.  Annalise, Brad and Cameron had all seemed so at ease with it, but she couldn’t face it for herself, or for Asa.  She hated the thought of losing more of her children, but she hated even more the idea that she wouldn’t have more.   Being a mum was what she lived for, and she had a lot of life left in her.

Bebe took time to talk to Annalise alone.  Her oldest child knew it would only be a matter of time before she too passed over, she and her partner Hassan.  She asked Bebe to keep an eye on Adam and Mandie for them.  Eddie had promised to watch over them, but it would help her to know Bebe and Asa were there too.  Bebe promised she would always be there for them.  Then she asked Annalise if she wanted to live longer, she said she could help her, it wasn’t too late.  Annalise shook her head.  She was at peace knowing it would soon be her time.

After everyone had gone, Bebe took up her glass.  She had given herself only a small amount of the nectar, as she didn’t want to damage the baby’s health.  She thought of this baby and how he or she would never know their wonderful eldest brother.

Bebe brought the nectar to her lips and drank to Brad.

She purchased a small piece of land not far from the house to bury him.  She wanted a family plot so that they could all be together in death as they were in life.  She placed a bottle of nectar by Brad’s headstone.

With tears, sadness, but with joy at having known him, Bebe Populous said goodbye to her son.

—

< < 33. Being a father

35. Experiencing a change > >