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Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Charlotte

I knew I was waking up.  I was starting to feel my body inches at a time.  I could feel something going down my throat also and it took everything in me to keep relaxed so I wouldn’t start choking on it.

And when I started feeling my hands, I felt someone holding on to mine.  I squeezed it gently, trying not to startle whoever – though I was hoping it was Ian – it was. 

“What’s wrong?” I heard someone said.  Freddie?

“I think…I think she just squeezed my hand,” I heard in the voice that I’d been dying to hear outside my mind. 

I squeezed his hand a little more and tried to open my eyes so I could see his green gorgeous ones.

“She did!” he exclaimed.  He sounded ecstatic. 

I felt him lean closer to me and my heart started picking up pace.  “Charlie, can you hear me?  Come on, babe, can you open your eyes for me?”  I heard maybe Freddie run out of the room but Ian stayed with me. “Charlie, come on.”

My heart started beating fast at the sound of his voice.  I felt stiff but I leaned my head towards his voice.  Finally finding the strength, I was able to open my eyes slowly…and found the ones that I’d wanted to see.  A smile lit up his face. 

“Hey, babe,” he said.  I could see the relief in his eyes.  “God, you don’t know how good it is to see those eyes.”

My eyes welled up with tears as I looked at him.  But just a moment later, pain radiated through my chest and I could feel the panic rising in me. 

Ian looked like he was shaking…but then I realized it was me who was. 

Before I knew it I was plunged back into the darkness…

Yeah, that stupid white light was back.  Why did I have to go back into it when I was so close to being back with Ian?  Why couldn’t I have just a few more minutes with him before I had to leave?

The light didn’t start fading until I realized I was walking on something.  It crunched under my bare feet.  And when the light dimmed enough that I could see it, I realized it was snow. 

I didn’t feel cold as I walked on it.  I was wearing a thin white dress made of cotton and my hair was loose and flowing down my back.  It took me a moment to realize where I was in the snow covered area.

I was in the cemetery where my mom was buried. 

I hadn’t been there since the first day we got back from England.  I brought Freddie here just so I could introduce him to my mom, even though she was six feet under.  He wanted to come with me, though, and when we got there, I realized just how much he meant to be just by being there. 

Walking through the snow, I walked past the rows of headstones until I got to the one that I’d sat beside so many times in the afternoons before we left for England. 

My mom’s grave.

Reece Emily Jones Henry

Beloved Wife and Mother

We’ll Miss You

I sat down in the snow in front of it and traced her name with my fingertip. 

“Hey, Mom,” I said, smiling at it.

“Hey, sweetie,” someone said from behind me.  

I turned and my eyes widened at the woman who stood there.  “Mom?” I said.

She smiled.  “Yeah, it's me,” she said.  

“What...how is this even possible?”

She smiled sadly and sat down beside me.  “The real question is why do you think I'm here?”

I swallowed hard.  “Am I...dead?” I whispered.

She reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.  “Yes, but it's not your time, baby, so you're being sent back.  You're not supposed to be here right now.  You've got a lot of things to do before you're back here.”

Tears welled up in my eyes.  “Things like what?” I asked.

She laughed.  “Well, graduate high school first and then Ian gave you the next.  He won't take a no from you either so you'd better get used to the idea,” she said.

I looked at her in confusion.  “What are you talking about?” I asked. 

She smiled again and picked up my left hand.  “This,” she said, lifting it so I could see what was on my finger.

The ring was an absolutely beautiful diamond engagement ring.  The tears that had been threatening to overflow finally slid down my face.  

“He wants to marry you, sweetie,” she said.  “And if it were up to me, I'd make you say yes even if you didn't want to.  He's the one for you.”

“Was this my birthday present?” I asked her.

She nodded.  “He was going to propose to you on that walk you were supposed to go on.”

I couldn't stop staring at the ring on my finger.  “Do you know what Dad thinks about it?” I asked. 

Mom laughed.  “You should have seen how excited he was.  He was about to burst when he told Liz.”

My eyes widened when she said her name.  “So you know about Liz?”

She smiled again.  “Who do you think sent her and Freddie you and your father's way?”

“You did?”

She nodded and took my hand again.  “You both needed someone new in your lives.  I'm really glad I picked them to be those people.”

“I am, too,” I said.  My tears were flowing heavier.  “I've missed you so much.”

“I know, baby.  I know,” she said, wrapping her arms around me.  “But I'm always watching over you.  Never forget that.  I'll always be there, watching.  I'll be watching when you marry Ian.  I'll be there when you two have your first baby and hopefully the others after that.  Every single moment, I'll be there.”

“I love you, Mom,” I said.  

She leaned back to kiss my cheek and smiled at me.  “I love you, too,” she said. “Now, it's time for you to go back.”

Her face faded from my vision and I was plunged into the darkness again.

 

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