They say grief comes in waves. Mine came when I noticed he wasn’t coming home. At 31, when I should’ve been preparing nurseries and picking out baby names, I was selecting flowers for my husband’s casket. I’m Colleen, and this is how his family tried to steal the last piece of him I had left.Family vacation packages

Ethan was everything they weren’t. Kind where they were terrible. Gentle where they were rough.

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When he selcted architecture over medicine, his family cut him off like a diseased limb. Seven years of silence. Seven years of holidays spent with just us two. And seven years of them pretending their son didn’t happen.Family vacation packages

But Margaret, his grandmother, was different. She witnessed what I saw in Ethan. The way his eyes lit up when he mentioned designing homes for families. The way he’d spend hours sketching impossible buildings that somehow made perfect sense.

When we got engaged, she pressed her heirloom ring into my palm. Her fingers were fragile, but her grip was steel. I’d spent Margaret’s final year driving her to doctor visits. I cooked her meals. And read to her when her eyes gave out.Family vacation packages

“This goes with you now, dear. Promise me you’ll look after it like you’re caring for him.”

“I promise, Margaret.”

When Ethan and I got married, it was simple.

I wore Margaret’s ring and a dress from the department store clearance rack.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Even in this old thing?”

“Especially in this old thing. My family doesn’t know what they’re missing.”Family vacation packages

Then came the call three months ago that destr0yed everything.

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A foreman told me there’d been a podium collapse at Ethan’s job site. The details were hazy, something my fashion-designing brain couldn’t fully figure out.

But I understood the only part that imported… Ethan was gone.

I prepared everything alone. I picked the casket. I wrote the obituary. And I selcted the songs he would’ve wanted.

But his family? They remained radio silent until the morning of the funeral. Then they all appeared like vultures circling roadkill.Family vacation packages

***

The funeral home felt too small with them there. Joe and Beth, his parents, sat in the front row like they belonged there.

I discovered he eulogy with shaking hands. I shared about Ethan’s dreams. His kindness. His laugh that could fill a room.

“He used to say buildings were just love made visible,” I muttered.Gift baskets

“Every beam, window, and door was his way of creating homes for families to grow in.”

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Beth wiped her eyes with tissue. Joe stared at his shoes. Where were those tears when Ethan called every Christmas for seven years straight?

After the service, people blended awkwardly. Grief makes everyone harsh.

I was accepting condolences when Ethan’s younger brother, Daniel, appeared beside me. He was the golden child. The one who became a surgeon like daddy wanted.

“Colleen. We need to talk.”

“Not now, Daniel. Please. I just buried my husband.”

“About the ring.”

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“What about it?”

“We were thinking,” she answered.

“Since Daniel’s the only son left, maybe the ring should stay in the family. You know, for when we get married.”Family vacation packages

“Are you serious right now? At my husband’s funeral?”

“It’s just sitting there doing nothing,” Daniel commented. “Emily’s always admired it… in the family pictures. Grandma would want it to go to the next bride in the family. The right family.”

“You mean the family that discarded Ethan away? The one that told him he was meaningless for following his heart?”

“That’s not…”Family vacation packages

“Get away from me. Both of you. Before I say something we’ll all regret.”

That night, my phone inebriated with a text from Emily:

“Think about it. You’ll probably remarry someday. Daniel’s the only one left to carry on the family name. Don’t be selfish! ”

Selfish?

I’d been the one holding Ethan’s hand through Margaret’s sickness. I’d been the one who remembered his birthday every year. I’d been the one who loved him when they threw him away.Family vacation packages

The morning after Ethan’s funeral, I received an email from his mother:

“Colleen, I hope you’re well. We’ve been thinking about the ring. As Ethan’s mother, I believe family heirlooms should stay in the family. Please arrange to return it this week.”

My hands trembled as I typed my reply:

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“Beth, you disowned Ethan for chasing his dreams. You skipped our wedding. Ignored him for seven years. That ring was given to me with love — it stays with me.”Gift baskets

Minutes later, her response came:

“You have no legal right. We’ll be involving our attorney.”

I called her. My voice calm and firm.

“I was the one holding your son while he cried for you. He checked his phone every holiday, hoping you’d reach out. He died long before the accident — from heartbreak.”

“We had our reasons…”

“And those reasons destroyed him. Now you want his ring? A symbol of the love you never gave?”Gift baskets

She said nothing. Then hung up.

That afternoon, the calls began. Joe, Beth, Emily — even relatives who hadn’t spoken to me at the funeral.

“You’re being unreasonable,” Joe snapped. “That ring has been in our family for generations.”Family vacation packages

“And Margaret gave it to me.”

“She was confused.”