["Alina's Place" by Fredrik]
- Monique: When I met Michael, I was 14 years old.
And I knew that he was gonna be my boyfriend.
[chuckles] We got married when I was 19.
And we were both kids.
We really didn't know what next.
You know, get married, and now what?
When we were divorced, I remember the kids telling me
that their father confided in them with a secret.
And they said, "Well, Daddy still loves you.
"He doesn't want us to tell you."
And I said, "Well, I know, and I love him, too,
"but Mommy and Daddy have gone their separate ways,
"but we'll always be a family,
"and we'll always be your mom and dad."
On 9/11, I remember getting up to take my daughter--
she had a doctor's appointment, so my daughter was home.
At 9:04, I got a phone call, and it was Michael.
And he was calling from the 103rd floor.
And the first thing that he said was,
"I'm calling to say goodbye."
And I said, "Why? Where are you going?"
And he said, "Well, I'm in the building
"that was just hit by a plane."
He just wanted to tell me how much he loved the children,
and he says, you know, "I also want to tell you
"that I always loved you."
And I said, "I know, the kids told me."
[voice breaking] And, uh...
My daughter was there, and she saw me
becoming a little hysterical, and I didn't know
whether to put her on, 'cause I didn't know how he would react.
He thought she was at school.
[crying]
It just really breaks my heart that he's not here for them.
It's like the only thing on his mind
was to tell the kids that he loved them.
And the thing is, is that
my two children look just like him.
And they talk like him, and they joke like him.
So it's like he's there.
You know, I see him in them every day.
And as much as he used to drive me crazy, [laughs]
he was my family and my best friend.
["Milo" by Fredrik]