Skipping Stones - COMPLETE

Chapter 11

A TEAR TRICKLES down my face. I'm paralyzed, unable to move. My body is trembling. He gets up and moves closer towards me. "Daddy?" I whisper.

"Alex?"

"Daddy!" I exclaim and run into his arms.

"Alex, it's Drew."

I push back. No. I saw him. He was as vivid as ever. He said my name. It was his voice. Not Drew. I look up into familiar, chocolate eyes. I see Drew. "No. I saw him."

"I believe you."

"I saw him," I sob. "I know it was him."

He rubs my back. "Shh, it's okay. I've got you."

My wails are muffled by his chest. He pulls us down to the ground. "Let it out, Alex. Just let it out." He positions me onto his lap, cradling me like a baby.

I cry, and cry, and cry until there are no tears left. The cries are replaced with whimpers. My throat is dry. My face is chapped from all the rubbing over the past few days. It literally hurts to have my swollen eyes open. Yet, when I close them all I see are unpleasant, frightening images of the nightmare that has become my reality.

Drew never says a word. He just rocks us back and forth, caresses my hair, and rubs my back the way I like. Finally, he picks one of the yellow flowers and puts it in my hair. He whispers, "I know you probably feel like there's no color left in this world. Like there's no light, instead all darkness. But there's sunshine. There are colorful flowers all around us." He swallows. Where's he going with this? "And for me, you're the only thing...the only one I see. The only one I've seen in a long time." He touches my nose with the pad of his finger. "I know it's hard to imagine, but one day you'll see the colors again."

That has to be one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me. I think for a moment that I could love him, but my realistic side reminds me that I just saw my dead father and my heart aches. "Thank you."

He kisses my head.

"I wonder if my dad ever brought my mom here?" The words are out before I have a moment to filter or hold them back. I don't know what I expect him to say in response to this. It's not like he knew them or would know the answer. I just realized that I need to talk about them. And for the first time since the accident, I feel like I can...with him. "I think that's why I thought you were him."

"I've heard it's normal for you to see people like that. You know, people you've lost that you love."

I swallow. "He used to take me to the creek with Papa. No matter how horribly I threw the stone, he'd always give me a thumbs up and a smile."

"I gave you a thumbs up." He brushes the tear from my cheek. "And it's hard for me to do anything other than smile when I'm around you."

This helps. The long lost smile emerges. "You're smooth."

"No." He shakes his head. "It's just the truth. I just wish I could do something to help you."

"You are helping me." I look into his eyes. "More than you could ever possibly know. Talking to you." I take a deep breath. "Talking to you about them just now. It's the first time I've been able to do that. It actually felt good."

He nods. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. My dad would probably have thanked you for finally teaching me how to skip stones." Laughter has been rare for me, except when I'm with Drew. A small chuckle escapes. "I'm pretty sure he would have had his shotgun ready had he known how you did it."

"Ha. I'm sure your grandpa has one ready for me."

"He just worries." I climb off of his lap and lie down on the overgrown weeds. "This neighborhood isn't what it used to be."