When Charles' beloved wife Melinda passes away in the presence of all her friends, he must learn how to come to terms with it, both during the funeral and long after it.

Chas didn't sleep a wink that night. He really wished that Melinda's death was all just a bad dream, but no, it was the harsh reality he had to deal with.

Now, he was really worried for Chuckie, and just when the boy had been taking his first steps. His poor little guy was only a baby, and by the time he got older, the only thing his mother would be was just a distant memory. Melinda wouldn't be around to hear Chuckie's first words or see Chuckie's first day of school…

Only a few days had passed, but it seemed like an eternity for Chas. At the church, it was time for the funeral of Melinda Cavanaugh-Finster. Chas wore the same black tuxedo he had worn to his and Melinda's wedding, but this time, instead of a red bow tie, he wore a black one in mourning. He knew he would have to deal with death sometime or another, but he had hoped it would have been a lot later. Sure, Chas knew that his wife was in Heaven, watching over him and little Chuckie, but since she had died so young, Heaven seemed so far away for him.

Chas had brought Chuckie along in a stroller, and all his friends arrived to pay their dues to Melinda and their sympathies to Chas. Marvin and Shirley came as well, to take care of Chuckie while their son, his father, was grieving. But one notable absence was Chas' father-in-law, Christian, who found the death of his daughter, his only child, too difficult to bear.

But what did it matter to Chas? He again tried his best to hold back the tears as he saw Melinda's body lying there in her coffin. She bore the same expression as when she died, eyes gently closed and a smile upon her face. And shrouded around her torso was the same red blanket that she had died in, which Stu had donated in sympathy for her grieving husband. Then, Chas averted his gaze and hung his head as he sat in the same pew where his parents were sitting with his son sleeping in Shirley's arms. The poor little boy didn't even realize that his mother had died.

When the funeral itself began, Chas, as the widower, was asked to recite the eulogy.

"Do I have to?" Chas asked Stu, who, along with Didi, Drew, and Charlotte, were seated in the pew directly behind him.

"Yes," said Stu.

Chas sighed, "All right…"

Chas stepped up to the podium. He never really liked public speaking, but he had to deliver a eulogy for his late wife. His eulogy went like this:

"Melinda Finster was the only woman I ever loved. She was also the woman who loved me for who I was. She always thought of me as this sweet, gentle, sensitive man, rather than the gawky nerd I look like. Most importantly, she was the woman who helped me fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a father. Good-bye, Melinda… I'll miss you…"

As he finished the eulogy, there were tears streaming down his face, and he broke into sobs. Howard and Stu saw how sad Chas was, and they came to lead him back to his seat, Stu sympathetically patting Chas on the back as he wept on his friend's shoulder…

At the end of the funeral, the casket was about to be closed. The congregation was weeping, but none wept as bitterly as Chas, who took one last look at his deceased wife. In fact, he had wept through most of the funeral, his voice quavering as he joined the congregation in singing the hymns. He just didn't want to have to see Melinda, his beloved wife, buried in that cemetery.

Once the casket containing Melinda was taken outside to the cemetery, the sun shining on the congregation and revealing many of their tear-stained faces, Chas stared at the sky, his own face still wet with tears.

"Why is it so bright and cheerful outside?" he asked himself. "There's not a cloud in the sky…" Then he thought, "Maybe it's because my wife was always a cheerful woman. Ever since we were kids, she was always much more energetic than me. She always had a sunny personality, so she must be buried on a nice, sunny day…"

Indeed, there was not a cloud in the sky when the undertakers placed the casket six feet underground and shoveled all the dirt over it, with a headstone to mark her grave:

"Mrs. Melinda Finster

Beloved Wife, Daughter, and Mother

Born September 13, 1957

Died July 12, 1990"

One by one, the members of the congregation left the cemetery to return home. Stu and Didi, Howard and Betty, Drew and Charlotte, even Boris and Minka left to return to their own homes.

Once everyone else had left, the only people who still stood by Melinda's grave were Chas, Marvin, and Shirley, the last of whom was still holding Chuckie, now just waking up, in her arms. Chas didn't think that anyone was watching, so he burst into tears over the grave.

But Chas didn't know that Chuckie was watching him. The baby didn't know why his father was crying, but Chuckie felt so sad for him that he himself began to cry.

This caught Chas' attention. How could he explain to his little son that his mother was dead? "Maybe I should wait until Chuckie's old enough to understand," Chas said to Shirley.

"You're right, Charles," sighed Shirley as she tried to comfort her grandson.

Marvin added, "For once, I'd say go easy on the boy. At only a year old, such a loss would be traumatic."

For the next several days, Chas had to take some time off work. And once he did return to work, he had to try to control his emotions just so he could work efficiently. He had his parents, Marvin and Shirley, look after Chuckie while he was at work…

Finally, on August 11, 1990, a great joy occurred among the Pickles household. Tommy Pickles was finally ready to be taken out of his incubator, so his parents, Stu and Didi, could take him home.

What a joy for both parents it was that their little boy survived the ordeal! Tears of joy streamed down Didi's cheeks as she wrapped Tommy with a blue blanket and gently cradled him to sleep in her arms. Once Tommy was asleep, Stu himself smiled as tears ran down his face, and he said, "Way to go, champ."

Yes, from then on, Tommy would remain Stu's "champ," just for surviving his premature birth.

On the way home, Stu was thinking about all the fun times he and Didi would share with their baby son when Didi said, "You know, Stu, maybe we should take a quick stop and check on Charles."

"But why, Didi?" asked Stu.

"I think he's still coming to terms with the death of his wife. Remember the funeral?"

"Deed, that was nearly a month ago. I'm sure he's over it by now…"

But Chas wasn't over it. Back in his house, he was seated on his chair, watching his and Melinda's wedding video. He could hear the minister deliver the sermon:

"Do you, Charles Finster, take this woman, Melinda Cavanaugh, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her till death do you part?"

Chas heard himself stammer: "I-I do."

He could hear the minister ask: "Do you, Melinda Cavanaugh, take this man, Charles Finster, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and health, to love, honor and obey, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him till death do you part?"

He could hear Melinda reply with a smile: "I do!"

And he could hear the minister state: "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And the orchestra began to play Mendelssohn's "Wedding March."

By that point, Chas, watching the video, was weeping. Only two years after he had gotten married, only two years after that wedding was filmed on tape, his beloved wife Melinda was no more.

Presently, he heard someone knock on his door, whereupon Chas shouted in a strained voice, "Go away!"

"Chas, it's just us," said Stu.

"We just wanted to pay you a visit," said Didi.

Enraged, Chas brushed his tears from his eyes, stormed to the door, and shouted to Stu and Didi, "I'm telling you: I don't want any visitors! Go away!"

Chas was about to slam the door when Didi stopped it and said calmly, "Calm down, Chas. We all know how you feel."

"How would you know how I feel?" Chas cried out rather abrasively. "I have to hide my emotions whenever I have to work in the office, so I don't get a break except during the weekends! All I want is to be left alone, but you two have the nerve to show up with your own infant son in your arms, thinking I need help with my life, but I don't need any help! No, sir! Not me!"

But Stu could empathize with Chuckie, for he knew what it was like to lose a mother, and he said, quietly, "You miss her, don't you, Chas?"

With those words, Chas stared at Stu and Didi for just a moment, then he burst into tears. He sobbed, "Oh, Stu! Melinda's dead! She's really dead! Why did she have to die? She was the best wife a man could ask for!"

"That's it, Charles," said Didi. "Let it out."

"I miss Melinda! I'll never be happy again!" cried Chas as he sobbed onto Stu's shoulder.

"Let it out, Chas," said Stu. "Let it out. I understand."

"But Stu, your wife's still alive. What do you know about becoming a widower?"

Stu sighed, "I would know from the heartbreak my pop felt when my mom died. Drew and I joined him at her funeral. We were both in tears as they buried our mom, but neither of us had seen our pop cry so much, neither before nor since. And even looking back, I can't say I blame him. I'd probably cry like that too if anything happened to my Didi."

"Oh, Stu," said Didi as she kissed him. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"Chas, your son Chuckie is lucky to know nothing about his mother's death, whereas Drew and I lost our mom when we were old enough to understand that she is dead."

Just then, Chas, Stu, and Didi heard the cry of a baby.

"Oh, no! Chuckie!" cried Chas, and he dashed to Chuckie's room to comfort his baby boy.

"Chuckie, what's wrong?" Chas asked his son. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Chuckie breathed in and out repeatedly, for he was still too young to talk.

Chas spoke to Chuckie, "You've probably noticed that your mommy isn't here anymore. But that's okay. Your mommy wouldn't want you to be sad or afraid, Chuckie. How would I know? Because I, your daddy, can be your mommy."

Chuckie smiled at Chas' comforting words.

"Good night, Chuckie," said Chas as he kissed his little son's cheek, turned off the light, and closed the door.

Stu and Didi saw all this with amazement, and Chas was surprised to see them both.

"Chas," said Didi, "you'd make such a good mommy."

Chas sighed, "Thanks for reminding me…"

Deep down inside, he still missed Melinda. In his room, he placed some old belongings of Melinda's in a box. This included her trowel, her diary which ended with the poem she had written on the day she died, a photograph of her holding a flower, and Chuckie's teddy bear, which Chuckie had affectionately called "Wawa."

All this made Chas very sad, and as he placed the box safe in his closet, he thought about all the tears he had shed for his late beloved wife…

The next day, at church, Stu and Didi were having a discussion with Howard, Betty, Drew, and Charlotte. With them were Tommy, Phil, Lil, and Angelica.

"So, Chas was pretty sad yesterday, wasn't he?" asked Betty.

"He sure was," Stu replied.

Didi then said to the others, "Now, when Chas comes over, we gotta be really nice to him."

"Good idea, Didi," said Drew.

"Yeah, anything to help our pal cope," said Howard.

Presently, Chas came over, holding Chuckie in his arms, and said with a smile, "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Chas," said Stu. "How's it going?"

"Okay, I guess."

Drew said to Chas, "You know, Charlotte was kind enough to buy us some tickets to an opera and orchestra concert to-night."

"But as usual," grumbled Stu, "Howard and Betty have declined the invitation."

"Well, there's Sunday Night Football goin' on!" said Betty. "Howie and I can't turn down a football game for some snore-fest!"

"Snore-fest, huh? Now, see here."

"I'm telling you, this means war!" cried Howard.

But Chas shushed Howard, saying, "We're in church now. We need to be quiet."

But as he saw Stu stepping up to the altar with Tommy to have him baptized, Chas thought about how Melinda had taken Chuckie to the same altar to be baptized the Sunday after he was born, and he heaved a sad sigh.

All of his friends were very unhappy upon seeing this…

After church, the parents drove to Stu and Didi's home, where Didi was busy changing Tommy's diaper. Drew and Charlotte were discussing plans for the drive to the concert hall.

"So, how do we get there, Char?" asked Drew.

Charlotte replied, "Maybe we could take the route past our old elementary school."

But Stu waved his hands while mouthing the word "No."

"What's that, Stu?" asked Drew.

Stu pointed to Chas, who was just sitting there feeding Chuckie his formula.

Getting the picture, Drew said, "Oh, it's because the elementary school is where we met Melinda!"

"Of course, there are other routes," said Charlotte. "Why not past the hospital? It's where Stu and Didi had our nephew Tommy."

Again, Stu waved his arms and mouthed "No."

"Oh," said Drew. "That was the same hospital where Melinda died."

"Well, what route are we gonna take then?" asked Charlotte.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Drew replied…

That night, Stu, Didi, Drew, Charlotte, and Chas were on their way to a concert. Stu was driving past the city dump, much to his own chagrin.

"Drew, why did you and Charlotte have to pick this route?" asked Stu.

Drew replied, "Well, um, we didn't want to remind Chas about… you know."

"Guys," said Chas with a smile. "Don't worry. That was a whole month ago! I'm going on with my life. I have an infant son to raise, you know."

Didi said to Stu, "You know, Stu, looking back, I'd say that we should be glad that Howard and Betty opted out of the concert. After all, they get to look after Tommy, Chuckie, and Angelica, as well as their own twins."

"Put a sock on it, Deed," groaned Stu sullenly. He was still miffed that Howard and Betty chose not to come…

In the concert hall, Stu, Didi, Drew, Charlotte, and Chas got to listen to all kinds of classical music. It started with a baritone singing Papageno's aria from Mozart's Magic Flute:

"Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja,
Stets lustig heissa hopsasa!
Ich Vogelfänger bin bekannt
bei Alt und Jung im ganzen Land…"

Chas sighed, "Ah, this reminds me of kindergarten." He turned to Drew and said, "Drew, do you remember when our kindergarten teacher used to play music like this to calm us down?"

"I remember it well, Chas," said Drew.

The next piece was the Spring movement from Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

"First grade," said Chas. "The springtime of our youth."

This was followed by a soprano singing "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's The Barber of Seville:

"Ma se mi toccano dov'è il mio debole
sarò una vipera e cento trappole
prima di cedere farò giocar, farò giocar.
E cento trappole prima di cedere…"

Chas looked a little uneasy, but still smiled as he said, "Reminds me of when I first met Melinda back in fourth grade."

Followed by the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

Chas was visibly sweating as he said to himself, "Sixth grade. The year my childhood ended."

Didi replied, "Most of us lost our childhood in sixth grade."

"But not me," said Stu. "Mine ended when I was in ninth grade. Remember?"

After a few more numbers, a tenor sang an aria from Verdi's La Traviata:

"Un dì, felice, eterea,
Mi balenaste innante,
E da quel dì tremante
Vissi d'ignoto amor.
Di quell'amor, quell'amor ch'è palpito
Dell'universo, dell'universo intero,
Misterioso, misterioso altero,
Croce, croce e delizia,
Croce e delizia, delizia al cor…"

Chas was looking down on his luck when Stu asked, "So, Chas, where have you been down memory lane?"

Chas replied, "Well, besides the grade school years that I mentioned, I've been though junior high, high school, not to mention the time Howard and I were birthday clowns back in college."

"Ah, yeah. The Entry of the Gladiators by Julius Fucik. And now?"

"Now, I'm at the part where I saw Melinda for the first time in ten years."

Chas chuckled a little, until his face fell. Chas still missed Melinda.

After the aria from La Traviata, the orchestra began to play a number from Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream: the Wedding March.

It made poor Chas think about his own wedding to Melinda, and he began to weep.

"What's wrong, Charles?" asked Didi as she turned to him.

Chas answered, his voice breaking as he spoke, "Melinda and I finally got married… two years before… she died!"

"Uh-oh," said Drew.

"What's next in the program?" Didi asked Stu.

Stu read the program: "After this is Puccini's Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly (this'll probably remind him of how Melinda used to lull Chuckie to sleep), followed by Act IV of La Bohême by the same composer."

"Act IV of La Bohême?! The ending of that has always made him cry since he was in sixth grade! He told us so!" cried Didi. Then, she scolded, "Nice going, Charlotte!"

Genuinely shocked, Charlotte replied, "Well, how was I supposed to know that this concert was pretty much the soundtrack of Charles Finster's life?!"

Poor Chas was so upset that his friends wanted to leave the concert early. And Stu said, "Don't worry, Chas. We'll take you home, and soon, you can forget all about Melinda."

But his weeping friend replied, "No, no, let's stay."

Stu, Didi, Drew, and Charlotte didn't understand why Chas wanted to stay if he was crying his eyes out during the Wedding March. From then on, Chas would always cry at weddings…

At the end of the last act of La Bohême, as the tenor was sobbing over the dead Mimi, everyone was moved to tears, but none more so than Chas. He had always wept over the death of Mimi since he shed his first manly tears back in sixth grade, but now that he had lost his own beloved wife to leukemia, it had become a literal tearjerker for him.

As tears ran down his face, Chas said to Stu, "You know, Stu, the moment I found out about my wife's death… I never cried so hard in all my life."

Stu replied in a broken voice, "You sure haven't, Chas."

And Stu, Didi, Drew, and Charlotte all wept with Chas as they applauded…

As Stu drove the others home, Chas said, "You see, Stu, I don't want to forget Melinda. She was not only my wife, but also my friend. If I don't remember her, my son Chuckie certainly won't. Besides, I like classical music."

The others were amazed.

"I don't get it, Chas," said Drew. "You actually want to think about Melinda?"

"Yes, I do," said Chas.

"But doesn't it make you sad?" asked Didi.

"Yes," sighed Chas, drying his tears. "But in a way, it also makes me happy. I remember Melinda because of all the fun times we used to have from childhood onward. Besides, she was the woman who helped me fulfill my lifelong dream of being a father by bringing Chuckie into this world."

"Wow!" gasped Stu. "We had no idea."

"Now, you do," said Chas. And having shed all the tears he needed to, he smiled, knowing that Melinda was in Heaven, watching over him and Chuckie…

The last scene of all takes place on September 13, 1990, which would have been Melinda's 33rd birthday. Charles Finster, now a widowed father of one, was driving, with Chuckie in his booster seat.

Once he got to Stu and Didi's place, he dropped Chuckie off and said to Stu, "Are you sure you can watch over him?"

Stu replied, "Shucks! Our son Tommy is three months old, and by now, Didi and I have noticed that he and Chuckie are getting along very well."

"Good," said Chas. "Then, I'll be off to work, but not before a quick stop."

And so, Chas got back into his car to drive to his destination…

At the cemetery, Chas had brought along a sack full of gourds, which he placed upon Melinda's grave in honor of her birthday. As he thought about the joyful memories he and his deceased wife had shared together, from their first meeting as young children to their own child Chuckie's first birthday, Chas said with a smile of joy tinged with sadness, "Happy birthday, Melinda. I'll always love you and never forget you."

The End