When Carolina passed away, it unsurprisingly broke her family's heart. At only 44 years of age, her life was one that had been taken from this world much too soon. The woman left behind 2 beautiful daughters, a husband, and countless family and friends who grieved her passing.
Dakota and Dallas, 22-year-old identical twins, mourned greatly. However, if there was anything that Carolina had taught them, it was to view life with a "glass half full" mentality. And it was because of this that the twins were able to focus on celebrating their mother's life rather than be consumed by grief. Carolina had lived a happy and fruitful life in an unfairly short amount of time, and the girls knew that their mother wouldn't have changed a thing.
Cancer had reared its ugly head in the woman's brain less than a year ago, and swiftly metastasized to other parts of her body. Her daughters took great comfort in the fact that the cancer had consumed their mother quickly without causing her
too
much pain. Carolina passed away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by people who loved her.
The twins were devastated but derived solace from knowing that their mother left this world in the most ideal way possible, if there was such a thing.
Reuben did not take wife's death nearly as well.
The had met his future wife in the most random way. Working as a licensed handyman not long after graduating high school, he received a call one day to make repairs at a dorm room that belonged to what sounded like very spoiled and bratty college girls. Wanda, Carolina's roommate who had actually made the call, was as annoying in person as she was over the phone.
But Reuben froze in his tracks the moment he laid eyes on Carolina.
He was instantly smitten by the petite blonde beauty, who was over 10 years younger than him. The handyman couldn't have known that he had just met his future wife, but immediately knew that she was special and
had
to get to know her. Nothing, not even their age difference, could interfere with fate.
Carolina and Reuben dated faithfully during her college years, and married soon afterwards.
Not long after that, the twins were born.
Carolina and Reuben had enjoyed almost 23 blissful years of marriage.
And now she was suddenly gone.
******************************************************************************
The twins arrived simultaneously at their childhood home.
Dakota was dressed rather provocatively in black leather pants, a short hot pink spaghetti-strap crop top that exposed her flat midriff, and shiny black platform shoes. Her clothes were so snug that it left little to the imagination. Dallas was wearing jeans and a casual top. Though she was dressed much more conservatively than her twin, her tight clothing flaunted her body as well.
It had only been 2 weeks since the twins last saw each other, and though they texted each other regularly and video-chatted almost every day, they embraced as if it had been years.
"You holding up?"
Dallas nodded. "I am. Mom's not suffering anymore, and I know she's in a much happier place." She looked at her sister. "You?"
Dakota knew that her twin spoke the truth. They were uncannily close, and one would be able to sense if the other was lying. And the fact that Dallas seemed to be coping extremely well wasn't an affront to Dakota because it was exactly what their mother would've wanted.
"I am," Dakota answered. But as her voice trailed off, the girls regarded each other with a grim knowingness.
It was their father whom they were worried about.
Dakota and Dallas had always been close to their parents. Even when they had moved out of their childhood home, Carolina and Reuben remained as a stout fixture in their daughters' lives. Their father may have been a gruff man who didn't like to show his emotions, but it was obvious to anyone who knew him that he loved his family more than life itself. And Carolina wasn't just a mother to her girls; she was their best friend and confidant.
But Carolina's death had changed a lot of things. Reuben had noticeably gained weight. This was especially striking since he had been fit all of his life, and worked a construction job that involved heavy physical labor often outdoors in extreme temperatures.
But most alarming was the fact that he had pushed his family and friends away at a time when he clearly needed them the most. This was particularly painful to Dakota and Dallas, who understood the depths of their father's grief better than anyone. However, his beautiful daughters reminded him too much of Carolina and the more they tried to reach out to him, the more Reuben pushed them away.
That's why Dakota and Dallas were so excited and relieved when he invited them over.
The girls climbed the front steps of their childhood home. As they reach for the door, it suddenly burst open, and their father stuck his head out. He was wearing a colorful party hat and blew into a cone-shaped horn. "Happy Birthday, girls!"
Dakota and Dallas were caught off guard as they hugged their father, and entered. There was a large birthday banner hung across the living room with several balloons tied to furniture. And as Reuben ushered his daughters inside, they discovered a small birthday cake on the dining room table. Otherwise, the house was quiet and empty.
"I'm sorry that I didn't make this into a bigger occasion." There was genuine regret in the man's voice. "Turning 22 is a big deal! It's just that it would've felt too disrespectful since... it hasn't been that long since... since..."
The twins squeezed their father's arm as he appeared on the verge of breaking down.
"Thank you, dad," Dallas said softly.
Reuben attempted to pull himself together. "I'm sure you've already had dinner, so come on. Let's have some cake." But his smile quickly faded as his entire body sagged like a balloon being deflated. "You know, you're both almost the same age your mother was when we got married."
He suddenly turned away, unable to keep his composure.
Dakota and Dallas immediately went to him, and hugged him from either side.
"Daddy, I don't mean to be cruel, but mom has been gone for almost 3 months. Dallas and I don't want you to forget about her, but we want you to move on. You
need
to move on. For your own sake. It's what mom would want, and you know it." Dakota hated herself for be so harsh with her grieving father, but nothing else she and her sister had previously tried was successful so she decided on a different approach. As difficult as it was, the was fine being the villain; between her and Dallas, she was always the blunt one.
"That's easy for you to say," Reuben retorted angrily between sobs, causing Dallas to loathe herself even more. "You and your sister are young. You still have the best parts of your lives to look forward to. Your mother was everything to me... now I'm just a lonely old man."
Dallas stood before him. "Daddy, you still have a lot of years ahead of you, too."
He snorted mirthlessly. "That's what I'm afraid of."
"And you are not alone."
It hurt the twins deeply when their father didn't respond.
Her father, Dakota noted, appeared to have gained even more weight in just the week since she had last seen him. "Daddy, you're clearly not eating healthy. And when was the last time you left the house other than for work?"
Reuben remained silent.