Authors: J.P. Grider
Maybe This Life (20 page)
“Emmie! There’s a pigeon! Right there.” Lena enthusiastically pointed out the bird to her three-year old. Watching her daughter run through the sand chasing the pigeons couldn’t be more satisfying. She’d named her Emmie, after Nana’s MS-stricken youngest daughter, Lena’s great-great aunt, who essentially was her own daughter during her life as Angelina Mancini.
On April 30, 2014, exactly nine months after Lena and Rick got married, Emmie Kate Murphy was born. The first time Lena held her newborn baby girl in her arms, she knew exactly what her name would be, and it was that much more gratifying to see her daughter running around effortlessly. Lena knew, deep in her soul, that Emmie, just like herself, now had a turn at a second chance at life.
Lena was burying her feet in the sand, while Emmie made the beach at Seaside Heights her own little playground. In front of her, Rick and Sam were playing Frisbee on the cool spring beach. Life couldn’t be better for Angelina Maria Giordano Murphy. She had a wonderfully loving husband, two beautiful, healthy children, a summer home in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, and she was now helping students make music videos at Tagg Holland's music camp. Her cousin Mara had introduced her to her famous rock star boyfriend Tagg Holland, and he invited Lena to join his team at Camp Holland. She had finally found fulfillment in her life and peace in her heart. And Rick loved to point out that he had been right – the two of them were
meant
to be together. Not that her heart ever doubted it. It just took her mind a while to play catch-up. Her relationship with Vince had really thrown her for a loop, but he was safe in a mental institution for now. And Lena felt strong enough to face him if she ever had to. She'd cross that bridge when she got to it.
Presently, Lena could not be happier. She'd come to terms with her connection to her Nana and realized that their lives had paralleled one another's, but Lena was given the chance to make a change and take a different path than her great-great-grandmother. And though Rick's introduction into her life was the catalyst to her new journey, it was Lena, essentially, who had paved her new road and developed into a strong, self-assured woman.
"Hey, honey, why don't you come play with us?" Rick called from the ocean's edge.
"Okay," she answered. "Emmie, baby, let's go play with Daddy and Sammy."
"Nammie. Yay," little Emmie yelled, as she ran to her big brother.
As Lena enjoyed the playfulness of her enchanted family frolicking in the seaside's spring air, she couldn’t help but be comforted by her own thoughts and her own certainty about life. Like her favorite carousel, eternally revolving to the music of the human spirit, life would never truly end. We would always exist. Whether souls were indeed recycled, or our loved ones carried on inside the souls of each one of us... life was eternal. If we were one of the unfortunate souls who'd experienced unbearable pain here on Earth, maybe there was the chance that God would send us down again, in the hope that we could learn from that pain– and learning, like the life of a soul, was never-ending.
The End
Thank you so much to my beautiful step-daughter Melissa Rappaport for your wonderful editing. Your keen perception and fabulous insight helped to tell a better story.
A big thank you to my baby brother Carmen Pellegrino for your help in catching all the mistakes I missed. I appreciate you taking the time to read my manuscript.
Thank you also to author Stefan Ellery for your wonderful help in editing and proofreading my manuscript. I can't thank you enough.
Thank you to my writing buddies, authors Kathleen Ball, Amber Dane, Jessica Musso and Stefan Ellery. I'm so glad we are going through this writing business together. You help me stay sane and on track. Your friendship is invaluable.
My love, gratitude and appreciation to my biggest fan, my mother Leanne. Thank you so much for your love, your nurturing and being the first to ever read my stories. You are the best cheerleader ever! I love you.
To my dad Jules, thank you for being my biggest inspiration. Thank you for teaching me, through your own example, to follow through on my goals and dreams...and to never give up. I love you.
And the biggest thank you of all goes to my husband, Johnny and my children, Matt, Sarah, Mary-Elizabeth and Christina. Thank you for your love, your support, and your beautiful smiles. I appreciate you all putting up with the many hours I spend writing and editing. I couldn't follow my dreams without your undying support. I love you!
About the Author
J.P. Grider (1966 - ) born in Paterson, New Jersey as Julianne Pellegrino was raised in Haledon, New Jersey, the oldest of six siblings. Her love of writing started early in her childhood when she started writing poetry in-between homework assignments. As part of a school work-program as a Journalism major in High School, Grider worked as a freelance reporter for a local newspaper, writing feature stories about exceptional high-school classmates. She studied Television Production and Film Writing at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Communications.
Two of J.P. Grider's novels have won awards in the Textnovel Writing Contest, with her recently published, Unplugged (A Portrait of a Rock Star) reaching Semi-finalist position. Maybe This Life is J.P.'s second novel to be published.
Communicate with J.P. Grider on line at the following links:
http://www.jpgrider.com/jps-blog.html
http://www.facebook.com/JPGrider
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JPGrider