by Alison Mello
Seth comes over. “Are you ready to go, baby? It is starting to get late, and we need to let Mr. Anderson rest.”
She nods and gets up to hug us good-bye. My mom says she needs to stretch her legs, and Chase offers to walk our friends out so I can have some time with my dad.
Once everyone is gone, I sit with my dad, rubbing his hand and watching him struggle for breath.
“Are you in pain, Daddy?”
He nods.
“Do you want me to call the nurse to get you some medicine?”
He shakes his head no and tries to talk. “Water.”
I lift his cup to his mouth so he can take a small sip through the straw.
“She’s not coming,” he says in barely a whisper.
Tears instantly well in my eyes because I know he’s talking about my sister.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I tried. I called her so many times and begged her to come, and she never answered or returned my calls.” I can see the pain in his eyes.
“I love you, baby girl. Thank you for always being there for me. I want you to promise me that you’ll continue to be there for your mom and take care of her for me.”
Tears are now running down my face because I know he’s saying good-bye. “Of course, I will, Daddy. I’ll always be there for Mama just like I’ll be for you.”
He’s really struggling to breathe now. “You made me so proud raising Katie on your own.”
I smile. “Thank you, Daddy. I wanted to make you proud.”
He takes a breath. “You did. Thank you for marrying Chase before I went so I knew you were taken care of. Now I can go in peace.”
He takes one more breath, and like that he’s gone, and the machine beeps.
“No! Daddy!”
Chase comes running in after he hears me scream. I am holding my dad’s hand as I sob. He comes up behind me putting his hand on my shoulder.
“Find my mom. He’s gone.”
Chapter 21
Today has to be one of the toughest days of my life. I can’t believe in a few hours I’ll be burying my father and my best friend. I have been close to my dad my entire life and there is not a day that will go by without thoughts of him. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep, and I’m worried about my mom. There are two things keeping me going right now—Chase and Katie. I sit here on the edge of my bed willing myself to move and dress but really all I can think about is how I’m going to handle Katie seeing her grampy.
“Sweetie,” Chase calls to me. “Come on, sweetie, it’s time to shower so we can get ready to go.”
He says it so soft and caring, but I still jump. “Sorry, Chase. Where’s Katie?”
He caresses my cheek. “She’s downstairs watching TV, already dressed and ready to go.”
I stand, nod, and thank him as I head off to the shower. I wash my hair and body while in a complete daze. Almost robotic-like, my mind knows what to do, but I don’t even realize I’m doing it. My thoughts are on how sad I am that my sister is so selfish that she didn’t come see her sick father before he died. Now she’s going to show up for the funeral so she can suck up the attention of the people around us to support us. Of course, she couldn’t come down a few days ago when my mom and I were left to make all of these decisions regarding our father’s burial. No, that would have been helpful and respectful, and my sister is none of those things.
I step out of the shower, wrapping my hair in one towel and my body in another. I walk into the bedroom to put on the black jumpsuit I bought for the funeral. I step into the jumpsuit place the belt around my waist and head back into the bathroom to blow dry my hair. It’s then I realize I really need to wear some makeup today because the bags under my eyes are bad from crying myself to sleep at night. The worst part is I don’t even stay asleep once I am there. I wake from dreams of my father waking to tell me he’s fine and wants to go home, but I know that will never happen.
Once my hair is halfway decent and I have some makeup on, I slip my high heels on my feet and head downstairs. Seeing my daughter sitting on the couch like a little lady wearing her black dress with her white tights and black patent leather shoes makes me smile. Chase has yet again done an amazing job with my daughter and it makes me realize how blessed I am. I’ll have to work on remembering that as I go through this tough time.
Chase meets me at the bottom of the stairs. “Are you ready, sweetie? We need to get going so we can have a minute with Katie before they open to the other people who are attending.”
I nod and he turns to Katie. “Katie, honey, it’s time to shut the TV off so we can go say bye to Grampy.”
She picks up the remote. “Okay, Chase.” She turns off the TV, and we all head outside to get into his truck.
“When we go to say bye to Grampy, is he going to say bye back? I thought he was sleeping,” she asks a little confused.
My bottom lip trembles and I can’t speak as I try to hold back my tears. Chase speaks up for me once he sees I’m trying to hold it together.
“Sweetie, ‘saying bye’ is more of an expression. It’s what people do when someone goes to heaven, but you’re right. Grampy is asleep, and this time he will not wake up.”
She’s quiet for a minute before she says, “Okay, but I still wish he would wake up again.”
That’s all it takes for the tears to flow down my cheeks, in a silent sob because I don’t want her to know I’ve lost it.
“I know, honey, but unfortunately that’s life. We cannot stay alive forever.” I take a tissue from my purse and quietly wipe my tears.
We pick up my mom on our way so she doesn’t have to worry about driving, and then we head to the funeral parlor. When we get there I ask the director to give me about five minutes before they let people in so we can have a minute with Katie.
He nods. “Let us know when you’re ready.”
I nod back. “Thank you.”
We walk into the room and there he is with his casket open and Katie so innocently goes skipping up to him. “Bye, Grampy.”
I can’t help the giggle that escapes me. “Oh, Katie, I love you, sweet girl.”
My mom and I take our spots at the front of the room, and Chase heads off to let the director know we are ready. When he comes back, he lets us know there is a bit of a line.
My sister comes running in the door and walks straight over to take her place next to my mom. She never goes to see our dad, never says anything to me. She just hugs my mom and stands there. Chase has taken Katie to the back of the room to keep her occupied while I help my mom get through the next hour.
People start flowing through and all at once I spot our friends in line and Chase must spot them, too, because he and Katie go out to say hi. Abbey, Seth, Tracey, and Sean all come over at once, and Michael, Sylvia, Ellen, and Mark are right behind them. I introduce them all to my mom and my sister, who is being totally rude. I choose to ignore her and continue the conversation. They all head to the back of the room to sit with Chase and Katie. A short time later the director comes in to let us know that’s time to move to the cemetery, so everyone starts filing out to line up in their cars and the six pallbearers come forward—my two cousins, Chase, Chelsea’s husband, Seth, and Sean. I appreciated them stepping up as friends because we do not have a lot of men in the family. My father’s siblings are too old to handle that.
* * * *
We have finally arrived at the local hall for the repast lunch and I’m exhausted. This is supposed to be a time to reflect and catch up, but all I really want to do is go home and snuggle on the couch with Katie and Chase. I can’t leave so I plaster my fake smile on my face as I walk around thanking people for coming and supporting my family. My sister is just sitting there with her husband being useless as usual. I have decided that we’ll have words when this is over, but then again I could care less if I never see her again.
They have finger sandwiches out, with a garden salad, fruit salad, pasta and potato salads, and some light desserts. I announce for people
to please help themselves to food and to enjoy each other’s company. I hate this part of the day because I feel like it’s more about the food than the family and what they are going through, but it is proper etiquette, so my mom insisted we do it.
I grab a finger sandwich and head over to the table that seats all of our friends, and I find Katie sitting on Sylvia’s lap talking to her and Michael.
She looks up to me. “How are you holding up?”
I nod slightly. “I’m really tired, but I’m okay.”
Abbey stands and rubs my back. “Want us to take Katie for you tonight so you can get some rest tomorrow?”
I smile at my friend. “You’re sweet, Abbey, but her father is coming to get her so he can take her for the weekend.”
Sylvia is bouncing Katie on her lap. “Katie was just telling me she’s going to her dad’s for the weekend. How are things going with that?”
I shrug. “I’ll call you in the office next week. I don’t feel like talking about it right now.”
Sean steps up. “Listen if you need help with anything at all, Theresa, please let us know. We’re here for you and are more than happy to help.”
Another lone tear escapes. “Thank you all so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I’m closer to all of you than my own sister and I’m so grateful to have you as friends.”
I turn to find people are starting to leave so I excuse myself to say good-bye to them with my mom. It seems like the entire room gets the same idea because they’re slowly all getting up to leave. Within about thirty minutes, the place is almost empty, and we’re just waiting for my ex to show up to take Katie. We’re talking with our friends when my mom comes over.
“Hey, sweetie, Chelsea is going to take me home.”
I stand up frustrated with my sister’s behavior today. “It is about time she does something useful. She has done nothing but sit around and act like the snotty brat that she is.”
Chelsea comes running over. “You know what, Theresa? You can kiss my ass because I don’t care what your opinion is of me. I’m living my life for me, not for you.”
I raise my brows at her. “First of all, watch your mouth. Second of all, I don’t want you to live it for me, but damn it, you broke Daddy’s heart when you didn’t come to the hospital. You’re selfish, and I couldn’t care less about you and how you live your life, so take your happy ass out of here and leave me alone.”
I turn to my mom. “Mama, I’m sorry. I love you with all my heart and will call you to check on you tomorrow.”
She smiles at me and nods. “I love you, too. Thank you for all of your help and support with this entire situation.”
I grab each side of her face, put my forehead to hers, and whisper, “You’re most welcome,” before I kiss her good-bye.
As she’s walking out, Kyle walks in to get Katie, and Sylvia looks like she’s ready to go into attack mode. I smile and think to myself she’s going to kick his ass in court, and I can’t wait.
He walks right up to me and says, “Why is my daughter wearing black? I thought I told you I didn’t want her at the funeral.”
I square my shoulders, look him dead in the eyes, and say, “Hello, Kyle. Thank you for being so respectful about the loss of my father. I know you didn’t want her there, but she wanted to be there. You have two choices—you can pick her up and enjoy the weekend with her, or you can walk back out that door. Either way, I really don’t care. It has been a long day, and I am tired.”
“I’m taking my daughter with me. I haven’t seen her in weeks because of you.”
I roll my eyes. “Really, because of me?” I say but decide to drop it. I turn to my daughter. “Katie, say bye to everyone and then come give Mommy a kiss.”
She gets up and goes around the table, hugging all of our friends who have become such a key part of our life. Then she goes up to Chase and gives him a hug before she comes give me a kiss.
“I love you, Mommy! I’ll see you Sunday.”
“I love you, too, my sweet pea!”
She starts heading toward Kyle when he says she’ll be back late on Sunday. I respond, “She will be back by four. She has school the next day.”
He laughs at me and says, “I am her father, and you can’t tell me how long I can see her.”
“I’m pretty sure I just did, and if she isn’t back by four on Sunday you’ll have the cops knocking on your door, so do not push me.”
He’s now pissed. “Why are you always trying to make me look like a bad guy?” He’s so mad that he spits as he speaks.
Sylvia now comes to my side. “I don’t need to make you look like a bad guy. You have been doing that all by yourself by canceling your time with her or not showing up. You think I don’t know that you work under the table to hide your money so you don’t have to pay support for your own daughter.” I grin.
I add, “I know people and I hear what is going on. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a caterer to square away with.”
“You can’t prove anything,” he says as he starts heading for the door.
“We’ll see what the judge has to say.” He pushes the door open and walks out with my daughter as I pray she has a good weekend with her daddy.
Chapter 22
I walk out of the hall with Chase exhausted from the day and ready to collapse, but as I climb into the truck I notice there are bags on the backseat that I didn’t notice before. “Chase, what are those bags on the backseat for?”
He smiles at me. “They’re for us to take off for a few days and enjoy a mini honeymoon while Katie is with her father.”
“You’re the best husband a woman could ask for.” My smile has grown, and as tired as I am I can’t help but feel excited, too.
“How does a luxury spa and resort in Vermont sound?”
“Peaceful and relaxing,” I say as sink into my seat, ready to relax.
“Good because we’re leaving right now. I have already booked it and have spoken to your mom about us going away for a few days. She thinks it’s a great idea and wanted me to tell you to relax and enjoy yourself.”
We buckle up and Chase hits the highway heading toward Vermont. He’s amazing. He fills me in on how he has even spoken to Sylvia to take care of any problems that could arise with Katie, and he gave my mom his cell number as a backup to reach us if she needs anything. She pretty much told us that she’s going to take the weekend to try to relax and that some friends of hers are going to come and visit with her. I make a mental note to help her go through my dad’s things when I get back so they do not just sit around the house reminding her of the loss.
“T, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, Chase,” I say, a little concerned.
“I know you have had a lot going on, and I hope this doesn’t come out to sound like I am rushing you and I know you were serious when you said you would have a baby with me so I was wondering if you thought about when you would like to try.
I smile at him. “I was dead serious. I think I need a little while to get over the loss of my dad, but I would love to have a baby with you. You’re so good with Katie. I have no doubt you will be a great father.”
I watch his smile grow as he drives down the highway. “Were you really that nervous to ask me about that?”
He shrugs. “Only because things have been so crazy lately, but I figured since we’re in the car and alone, it was a good time to have the conversation. I’m glad we’re on the same page because I really would like to have a child and I’m hoping we can start trying soon.”
My eyes are getting heavy, but I tell him that I agree and that we can start trying in a couple of weeks if he wants. He looks over at me and sees my eyes shutting.
“T, that’s great, but for now I want you take a nap and I’ll wake you when we get there. I just want to tell you that I am so proud of you. You handled everything with your dad this week so well and you were so strong for your mom. I love you.”
I smile at him and thank him
before I doze off.
* * * *
I’m so glad I took a nap. I feel so much better, and I’m so much more awake to enjoy this beautiful resort Chase has booked us. We’re standing at the front desk checking in and the woman behind the counter is confirming our room reservation. As I’m looking around, I also hear her confirm a spa reservation and a few dinner reservations that he has made for us.
“I have ordered room service for dinner tonight so that we can relax and take it easy. I hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s perfect, but how did you know what to pack for me?”
He shrugs as the concierge grabs our bags and takes them to our room for us. “I just went and grabbed a little of everything. I probably way over packed for you, but since I was doing it for you I wanted you to have things to pick from.”
I laugh. “Let’s go see how you did. I want to get out of these clothes and into something more comfortable.”
He agrees so we follow the man with our luggage to our room. When we get there, he opens the door to the most beautiful suite I have ever seen. It is huge! The room has a small eating area with a mini kitchen, two bedrooms, two full bathrooms and the master bath has a Jacuzzi right in it. There’s a living room with a huge TV and gorgeous couch, loveseat, and coffee table. There’s a large balcony with a table and two chairs so we can eat outside if we want. I could live in this place.
Chase walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “Shall we relax in the hot tub for a little while?”
Turning around in his arms I give him a huge smile. “I would love that.”
He leans in to give me a soft, sweet kiss. When he pulls away he looks into my eyes and pauses for a minute. “I love you so much, Theresa, and I know this probably isn’t your dream honeymoon, but I wanted to take you away just the two of us even if it was just for a weekend. At some point in the future I would love to take a vacation with Katie.”
“This is perfect because it doesn’t matter where we go as long as we are together, I am happy.”
