Away From the Spotlight (77 page)

As I got
even
older and approached the end of my life, I realized that, although I
wasn’t able
to have a full life with Will as I had anticipated in my 20’s, I did lead a full life.  I had a career that allowed me to help others, I had a family
I loved and
who loved me, and I was able to have children with both of the men in my life.  Unlike Will, I also
was able
to see my children grow up and, unlike John, I
was able to see
all my grandchildren reach adulthood.  I even saw my first great-grandchild when William’s
eldest
son
had a baby daughter.

When it was time for me to pass, there was no horrible accident and no long illness.  My heart finally gave out and I passed away in my sleep
in my home
at the age of
eighty-five
.  I woke up in Will’s arms as I always did when I went to sleep e
ach
night.  Th
at
night, however, was different.

“It’s time,” Will said, almost ominously, when I awoke in his arms
in our house in the Palisades.

“What do you me
an?  Where are we going today?”

“You’re with me now fo
rever.  There’s no going back.”
  He smiled a bittersweet smile.

“I died?”

“Yes.”

“Can we go back to the boat one more time befo
re we go wherever we’re going?”

“I d
on’t see why not.”

We did more than go back to the boat.  We started at the
Royalist
and relived the night we met, followed by the first time we m
ade
l
ove
, the first time we said we loved each other, the boat
on the Thames
, the hotel in Berlin, our engagement, our wedding, our two receptions, our first night in our new house, the night we conceived William,
the day we
learn
ed
I was pregnant with William, William’s birth,
and
the first time we w
ere together after Will’s death, among other
happy time
s.

When we were
finished with the long trip down
M
emory
L
ane
, Will asked, “
Are y
ou ready for forever now?”

“With you?”

“Of course.”

“Then
, yes.  Let’s go.  I love you.”

He took my hand. 
“I’ll love you forever.”

Many thanks are owed to the number of friends and family who provided feedback on my manuscript and/or its concept
: 
Anna, Azita, Debbie, Kim
, Michelle
and Rachel, among others.  A special thank you to my editor, Diana, who spent countless hours reviewing my manuscript, serving as the verb tense police and correcting my overuse of initial capital letters
i
n common nouns.  A final thank you to my husband and daughter for tolerating the many nights spent in front of the computer and for believing in me and my novel.

Tamara Carlisle is a former attorney
and business consultant. 
Away from the Spotlight
is her first published work of fiction.  She currently is
working on two additional
novel
s:  one is
about love in the music industry and
the other is
a work of paranormal fiction.  Tamara currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her British husband and daughter.
  For further information, go to
http://www.
tamara
c
a
rlis
l
e.com
.