Life can be tough sometimes. However, it's adversity that can make us appreciate the best times we experience. Each of us deserves to be who they want to be, to enjoy love and live happily ever after.
Excerpt from this Cute Love Story:
This story, my story, all starts way back when I was just a teenager, I was barely 13 when it all started and looking back I have to laugh, it all seems so interesting but then it was life. I grew up with two fabulous parents, my dad was a career air force man, my mum was his faithful servant, we moved so many times I lost count. I really learned to hate my dad coming home with a large envelope or an unexpected present, because I knew that mean we were packing again. But back to the story, just before I turned 13 we got orders to move again, I was not happy about this, we had lived in Perth for almost 3 years, I had friends and I was looking forward to starting high school with my friends in the new year, we were moving to Adelaide, I had never been there but I was opposed to he move, to the point I begged a friends parents to adopt me so I could stay. I lost the argument but my dad did promise this would be the last move for five years, this was a long term assignment and he would need to be away a fair bit but we would stay.
I wasn't thrilled but I packed and we moved, the house the air forced moved us to was truly awful, it was a tiny little fibro thing. It shook when a plane took off and that was about every twenty minutes, my parents enrolled me in the local high school and I served my time out on the base during the summer holidays, normally on a base you will find people your own age or with the same interests but not on this one, the only families all had young children and I spent most of my holidays working out at the gym, running on the base with the cadets or watching tv. It all eventually come to an end, we got a letter confirming I was starting at the local high school and that I was expected to attend an orientation day. This was not my first o day but it was not something I was looking forward to, when we got to the school my mum paid for my school fees, we collected my books and bought my uniforms, we dumped all of that in the car and made our way to the gym, we were told to be there at eleven, we arrived a little early to discover that there were about 20 students taking part, I thought I would have been a lot more, but I kept quiet. The head master stood up said a few things, then told us what would happen, it seemed that we had each been paired up with a volunteer from the next year up, that on this day, they would take us around show us where things were etc then on monday they would escort us around to our classes and answer any questions we had. It all seemed fairly normal, he then called the volunteer students in. They were mainly girls, there were a couple of guys but not many.
In turn each of our names were called and we were introduced to our buddy, each of them all looked a bit sweet for me, my name was called and I met my buddy, her name was Sara, she'd seemed normal enough, then the most beautiful guy stepped out from the back of the group, he had been paired with another guy, the other guy was ok, but Sara seriously started to drool, when the guys joined the rest of the group, she intoduced me to beautiful guy, his name was Craig and he was her twin brother, I suggested we swap buddies, everyone agreed and everyone was happy. Craig was the perfect host, he asked me questions, answered my questions, found all of my classes, introduced me to all of my teachers and even found my locker. When the bell went to tell us lunch was on, he escorted me to the oval, they were having a BBQ lunch, he stayed by my side the whole time, he charmed my mum and we became firm friends.
I guess I should introduce myself, my name is Claire, Claire Louisa May if you are my mother, I have auburn hair, blue eyes and naturally fair skin, I was born in Borneo to Australian parents, I have been all over the world with my dads job but Australia is the place I call home. But back to the story!
The pregnancy was fairly normal, nothing much troubled me, I got very tired but other than that I was fine. Craig was true to his word, he found us a flat, it was not much but it was home, he worked really hard, his mum and dad helped us with furniture and my parents bought us the things we needed for the baby. In due time the baby decided it was time to make his appearance, after almost twenty hours in labor, they decided to do an Emergancy c section, as soon as he was born, I knew something was up, he was born with a genetic defect, the doctors stitched up my stomach and moved me to a room, it was there they explained that my baby had a very rare genetic condition, that we wold probably only have a short time with him and that we should make the most of that. I was devastated, we named him Ben Adam, he was beautiful, we held him and took heaps of photos, hoping the doctors were wrong and that in years to come we could show him the pictures and tell him the story. Unfortunately the doctors were right, at just three days old Ben died, it was awful, the doctors sedated me for a couple of days and when I woke up it was the day I was leaving hospital, the next day was the funeral.
The funeral was hard, heaps of people from school came, lots of people hugged me and told me it would all be fine and in a way it was! Craig and I went home, my parents had packed all of the baby stuff up and taken it to there place, we went on with life. The doctors assured us that we had done nothing wrong and that the chances of having another baby with the same issue were extremely unlikely. They recommended we wait a few months and try again. The day of the funeral I got my exam results, I got really good grades, plenty good enough to go to uni but my heart just wasn't in it now. I stayed home for a couple of weeks before I went looking for a job, I got an administration job at a local plumbing company, I also got a part time job at the local supermarket, it meant that we both worked long hours, I really wanted to buy a house and we both decided that it was best if we worked really hard, saved as much as we could and we bought the house before we thought about trying for another baby.
Fast forward three years, I am about to celebrate my 21st birthday, last year Craig had a big birthday bash for his birthday so this year it was my turn. I bought a fabulous dress, I was in great shape working two jobs left little time, but I was proud of the shape I was in, it was the best shape of my life. When we got there it my parents had done the most amazing job, the footy club looked amazing, no one would have guessed it was a footy club fromt he inside any way, it was all done on a budget. We had a caterer who was making sure we had everything we needed, the decorations were up and my friends had started arriving, the only person I hadn't seen was Craig, I knew he was there we arrived together but I hadn't seen him for ages. It didn't really surprise me he had become more and more distant in the past couple of years, it would have still been nice if he had been by my side, it was the one event I really wanted him to at least pretend we had a normal marriage.
We lived together we slept in the same bed but that was about it!
A couple of people asked me where Craig was, I said he was around somewhere but I hadn't seen him for a bit, then it was time to cut the cake, everyone went looking for Craig when they found him, he was in the change room with a man I didn't know, they obviously knew each other because they were engaged in a very intimate act, with another man, I had met him but didn't know him but clearly he and Craig were seriously involved. I was horrified, how could he at my birthday, I did the only thing I could I burst into tears and run from the club. I got into my car, I had people chasing me but I didn't stop, I started the car and drove off, I stopped a little way down the street to pull myself together then I drove to our flat, I packed my things as quickly as I could, packed it into my little car and I drove to my parents place. My dad was waiting there they guessed I would show up there, he called my mum and told her I was home, he helped me unpack my car, then run me a bath and left me alone, he went back to the club and helped my mum clean up. They also ferried home my presents, Craig's parents were also at the party and they were furious, they helped my parents clean up and offered to do what ever I needed to get this sorted out. I was in shock but being at my parents home, having a warm bath and a stiff drink helped, when my mum got home she asked if I wanted to talk, I didn't I just wanted to go to bed and try and make sense of it all.