by Melanie Rose
This is going to be a nice unexpected treat for them, getting out of the city, and experiencing nature at its very best. Jack, the grounds keeper that tended the horses year round already had the driveway cleared and a warm fire brewing in the fireplace. I could feel my dad’s presence all around me. Wrapping me up and cradling me like a cozy blanket, making me well aware that he was somewhere nearby, welcoming us to his home.
I found myself being drawn out to the horse stables where I could sense his presence the strongest. Comet came to life as I drew closer to her. She was a beautiful animal… but she must have missed my dad as much as I did. It broke my heart to think that she would never see him stroll through the barn doors again. Did she understand that that would never happen? That their time together was over or was she still waiting for that one last ride?
I stood talking to her and brushed her head until the wonderful sound of a child’s laughter brought me back to the world. Barreling straight for me were two of my goddaughters, Jasmine and Bria, my nephew Dean, and my son Ty. They were all five years old and were an absolute handful when they were together like this.
Lucky me!
“The Quads” we called them. All born within days of one another. They were all bundled up and ready for a day in the cold.
“Auntie, auntie, auntie, mommy… are you really going to take us on a sleigh ride? Can we go now please, pretty please!” the kids sang out in unison.
“Sleigh ride? Who told you guys that?” I questioned them, probing to see exactly whose bright idea this was.
“Daddy,” Ty told me without an ounce of guilt. What was my husband up to this time, I wondered? Well, I sure hope he planned to help me with these little monsters. What in the world was he thinking, sending them all out here to ambush me?
“Oh he did, did he? I don’t know kids. It’s really not up to me if we go or not,” I said shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.
“Ahhhhh man. Who’s it up to then?” They whined disappointedly.
“Well, the horses of course! I’m sure if you ask them really nicely and promise to feed them lots of carrots while you’re here, then they’ll be more than happy to give you guys a sleigh ride.”
The kids tripped all over themselves while they begged the horses to pull them through the snow. It was one of the cutest things I had ever seen in my life. How could I refuse their simple request after seeing something like that? So I asked Jack the caretaker to hook Comet and Music up so that the six of us could set out for a short ride around the property.
We found the older kids attempting to build their very first snowman down by the frozen pond. I watched in awe as they struggled to attach the top half of its body to the gigantic base. The thing was huge. Probably twice as big as they were. Go big or go home, I always say, but DANG!
We all waved hello and told them they were doing a fantastic job as we continued on our way. So, with all the kids outside playing and out of their parent’s hair… what were all the other adults doing exactly, I wondered.
The sun was just beginning to set behind the mountains when Jack dropped us off at the back door. The tour had taken a lot longer than I would have liked. With the temperature outside dropping fast, I rounded up all the kids and brought them inside before any of them could freeze to death.
We entered the house to the most decadent aroma. My senses were filled with cinnamon and vanilla... honey baked ham and macaroni n’ cheese. My stomach growled as my mouth watered with anticipation of what I was about to sink my teeth into.
I ushered all the children along with me as I followed my nose through the house while we peeled off layers and layers of jackets, mittens, beanies, and boots.
“Hot chocolate anyone?” Jay asked as we stormed the kitchen.
“Oooooh… me, me, me, me,” the kids cheered as Jay passed out the steaming mugs with mounds of marshmallows floating on top.
Yum! I want some to, please.
Tyce handed me a cup of mine own as he placed a protective hand on my pregnant belly. I sipped happily, as I took in everything that was happening in the kitchen around me. While the kids and I were out playing in the snow all day, the others had been cooking up a storm.
Fresh baked cookies and brownies were being pulled from the oven by Maya as Vivian put the finishing touches on some homemade gravy, while my sister-in-law Amy, basted a ham over a warm stove. To my amazement, I even noticed that there weren’t any dirty pots in the sink to be washed later.
Wow, they have been busy!
Joel walked in from the cold with a monster size turkey that he had just finished deep-frying outside and placed it in the center of the table (which had already been dressed and set as well), so I was baffled that there was absolutely nothing left for me to do... but eat.
“I could have helped guys. I’m pregnant, not crippled you know!” I told the room flat-out.
“You did help, silly… you were elected for babysitting duty.” They all informed me as if I had drawn the short straw or something.
Huh, works for me. I couldn’t complain too much because from the amount of food they had prepared, the clean up alone must have been brutal. I got the easy job… SUCKERS!
This is what the word “family” meant to me. I couldn’t have wished for a better one. How we all got along, cared and took care of one another was amazing. Growing up, I never knew what having a family really felt like or how much I truly longed for what I have now. It didn’t matter that we didn’t all share the same DNA… I would still lay down my life for each and every one of them. Just like, they would lay down their lives for me.
After our fabulous dinner, I was told that there was still one more surprise left for the evening. Tyce covered my eyes before revealing a gigantic Christmas tree that they had chopped down secretly earlier that afternoon. Scrapping against the fourteen-foot high ceiling, I had to wonder how in the world they got that thing in here without me noticing.
Tyce handed me the container that held all of Ty’s Christmas ornaments in it. One for every year of his life. I teared up at my husband’s thoughtfulness. I had forgotten to grab them before we left the house and had voiced to him how bummed I was that we wouldn’t get to see Ty hang up his ornament collection with the other kids this year, but that little booger had them all along.
Thanking him with a quick kiss, I handed the box off to our sons awaiting hands. He took it happily and went to join his cousins that were already participating in our long-standing family tradition.
Each child got to pick out a new ornament every Christmas, which they got to hang up on the tree all by themselves. We sat around watching as their little eyes lit up as they saw their selections from Christmas pasts. It was funny to see how much and how fast a child’s taste grows in just a year’s time. The tree ended up being a wild assortment of fun… something Santa himself could be proud of!
At the crack of dawn the next morning, we all made our way down to my dad’s favorite fishing spot on the lake. Gathering whatever dry wood we could find along the way for a fire, we watched the sun peaked its head above the mountaintop. I could see why my dad loved this very spot. It was isolated and tranquil all rolled into one.
We had been there enjoying ourselves for a few hours when the quads returned from exploring. Little Jasmine was beside herself as she buried her face deep into my chest.
What in the world?
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked as she clung to me and shook like crazy. Vivian looked alarmed that she had come to me instead of her, but there wasn’t too much I could do about that, now could I. “What happened to you?”
“I… I saw… I saw a man in the water, auntie,” she choked out, breathing heavily between sobs.
By this time, everyone in our group had dropped whatever it was that they were doing and surrounded us to find out exactly what was going on. Jay tried to scoop his daughter up, but she only clung to me tighter. Worried that she was crushing my belly, I had to reassure him that I was fine and to just let
me handle this.
“What kind of man, sweetie? What did he look like? Can you describe him for me?” I asked her calmly.
“He was a big, white man with no hair on his head.”
That did it! The guys all took off in different directions to search the surrounding area while I continued to question my godchild for more answers. “Did he hurt you? Touch you? Say anything… to you?”
“Noooo… he just appeared out of nowhere and shook his head at me. I was about to fall in, when I saw him… under the water… right over there.”
I turned to see where she was pointing and then rotated halfway back so I could address the remainder of the quads. “Did any of you see him too?”
“No mommy. I tried to tell her that he wasn’t a stranger, but she wouldn’t believe me. It was the Guardian of the Lake that she saw. Mommy, he wouldn’t have done anything to Jasmine… he protected her. He stopped her from getting hurt just like you told me he would,” Ty spoke up as bold as ever.
Oh my!
The Guardian of the Lake was a story I made up to ease his little mind when we scattered his papa’s ashes on this very lake… in this very spot, when he was only three years old. Could he really remember my tale from when he was so young? I was taken back for a moment to say the least. Did Jasmine just see my dad in the water?
“Jasmine… have you seen this man before? Think hard, this is very important!” She nodded her little head in response. “Where, where have you seen him?” I said, bracing myself for her answer.
“He looked just like the man in the picture… the picture with the white horse.”
I swallowed hard. There was only one photograph that I knew of, that matched that description to the letter. It hung over the fireplace back at the ranch. I couldn’t bring myself to ask her any more questions. I had wished for two long years that my dad would appear before me or come to me in a dream and let me know that he was… at peace or at least something along those lines.
I gazed mindlessly out onto the lake in front of us… was my dad still here then? Was he really watching over all of us like he had promised?
“Mommy… mommy, tell Jasmine the story!” It was Ty’s sharp words that broke through my fog as he yanked impatiently on my sleeve.
“Yes, yes… of course little man, I think you’re right. I do believe it is time to tell that story again. The tale of the Guardian of the Lake. Jasmine… do you have any idea how lucky you are?”
She sat up in my lap and wiped her sweet face dry while she shook her head no. I kissed her forehead before handing her off to her mother and centered myself.
“Well… It is said that the Guardian of the Lake used to be just an ordinary man… living a simple ordinary life. That he had three great loves. His horses, this very lake, but most of all… his family. He loved them so much that when it came time to leave this world for the next, he couldn’t bring himself to do so… to separate himself from what he cherished most on this earth. Instead, he infused his spirit with the waters that you see before you now. So, that he could watch over and protect the things nearest and dearest to his heart for all time.
The guardian must think you are a very special little girl. For him to appear before you… you must have pulled at his heartstrings while he was still alive. So don’t be afraid… don’t ever be afraid of him because he’s just keeping his promise… his promise to keep us all safe.”
Strong, protective arms wrapped around my waist and held me close. I had been so engulfed in my story that I hadn’t realized that Tyce and the others had returned. “I couldn’t of told it better myself, Rain,” he said, snuggling his face into my neck as we rocked slowly from side to side.
How could I not love this man completely? He was my life, my world, my strength. Plus, he had a strangest knack for always appearing at just the right moment. Right when I needed him most.
EPILOGUE
“RAIN BABY… YOU CAN DO this! I know you can,” Tyce pleaded to me while wiping sweat from my brow.
I wanted so badly to believe him, but I didn’t know if I could. I was scared to death. The nurses had me strapped down and were prepping me for an emergency c-section. The baby had the umbilical cord wrapped around their neck and their heart rate was dropping fast. There was no time for delay… there was no other choice, but to have surgery. The baby had to be delivered immediately before they ran out of air.
The doctor informed Tyce that he would not be permitted in the operating room during the delivery. There was a good possibility that the baby as well as myself wouldn’t survive the birth. Tyce was going to be forced to wait outside to hear if we lost our child or if he had just become a widower. Or both!
The odds were not stacked in our favor.
Even with all that weight bearing down on him, he was still trying to support and reassure me. He was my rock to the bitter end. If I had a choice, I would never leave him. The thought of being separated from him was too much. The pain my absence would cause him was something that I could not allow to happen.
It was at that moment, that I made a mental pact with our unborn child. For the sake of their father and big brother, we both had to pull through this together. There was no other acceptable solution.
Once the nurses shaved my belly and stained my skin yellowish orange with a coat of iodine, it was time for the inevitable. The look in my husband’s eyes said all that he couldn’t. If that look was the last thing that I saw in this world, I could die… a happy woman… just knowing that he loved me more than life itself.
I woke to the soft touch of someone stroking my hair. I could barely open my eyes. The anesthesia had done a number on me so I could barely feel anything from the neck down. My husband stood, beaming down at me with pride. “I knew you could do it. I never doubted you… not for a single second. I am so proud of you. Thank you for coming back to me.”
“And the baby. Is the baby… alright?” I whispered as my voice shook.
“She’s perfect. A little fighter. She definitely takes after her mother.”
All I could do at that moment was cry. Fat tears of joy and relief streamed down my face as I thanked God for pulling us both through this. “Where is she… can I see her?”
My whole body vibrated anxiously as I waited for my daughter’s arrival. I was the last one to lay eyes on her, but it didn’t matter. Not one bit!
I could sense her drawing closer to me and when she finally rounded the corner and entered my room, Tyce had to hold me down to prevent me from getting up and tearing my stitches.
It wasn’t until she lay peacefully in my arms that my body began to calm itself. I hugged her close to me. She was so precious… one of the prettiest babies I had ever laid eyes upon.
My miracle child.
Latching securely onto my pointer finger, she opened her little eyes to stare up at me. My world froze. The earth stood still for a second, as our eyes locked together as one.
I knew these eyes… I’d looked into them a million times before. I had even sworn never to forget them after they had been burned into my memory for all time.
“What should we name her?” Tyce whispered so he did not startle her.
I looked up lovingly at him and then back at her. “Kennedy. Her name is Kennedy… Kennedy June,” I said, kissing her tiny forehead. “Welcome home… my little KJ.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my family, friends, and lifelines for holding my hand throughout every step of this journey. I love each and every one of you and couldn’t have made it this far without all your support, encouragement, and all those countless glasses of wine.
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