Lesson by Her [Book 1]

Chapter 21

Dusty rarely visited her father's grave. It was located on the other side of town, near their old home, but more than the obstacle of the extra distance, she had avoided his resting place because it made her too sad to endure. Away from his grave, she could pretend that he still was around, somehow lurking in the shadows of her life.

But when she stood and read his name etched in cold, hard stone, the dates of his time on earth emblazoned beneath, it was difficult to believe that he was still with them. It pained her to imagine his body there under her feet, buried beneath dirt and locked away in a box. She wanted to think of him only as he had been: kind, loving, and full of life.

The cemetery was almost empty as the family gathered around the tombstone. The early morning air was crisp and held a bite to it that nipped at their exposed cheeks. Despite it being summer, the weather had taken a chilly turn of late.
Kayla stood between her two children, placing an arm around each of them. She knew it was the first time in years that they'd been there. For her, it was a familiar spot.

They didn't know, but each night, after the shift of her first job had concluded, she made a longer journey home, so she could pass by the cemetery, and quickly visit her deceased husband. She'd tell him about her day, about how she was, about how hard everything had been since he left. Not a day had gone by since he died that she hadn't visited his grave.

"Hey, Dad," Dust said awkwardly, feeling self-conscious about talking to an inanimate object.

"Dad, we came here today to tell you something." Dusty cleared her throat, also feeling a little strange to be talking to open air as though it were a person. She pulled away from her mother to retrieve her acceptance letter from her backpack.

She took it out and held it towards the gravestone. "I got into Princeton." She smiled as tears ran down her face. "Just like you always wanted me to." Dusty began to shake as the emotion overwhelmed her, and Kayla pulled her back towards the family unit, rubbing a protective hand down Dusty's arm.

"He'd have been so, so proud," Kayla whispered.

"He'd have run out and bought you something crazy like a new laptop," Dust joked.

"He loved you children so much." Kayla's voice threatened to break as she spoke. "I know it's been hard for us all since he died. And I'm sorry if I haven't done such a great job." Kayla looked up to the heavens, to the place where she prayed her husband was watching them, trying to hold back further tears. "I'd only ever known how to be a mom," she continued, shaking.

"I didn't know how to be both a mom and dad to you kids." Both Dust and Dusty leaned into their mother and comforted her.

"You've done great, Mom," Dusty said. "It's been hard for each of us as we adjusted."

"You haven't done too bad," Dust added. "I mean, Dusty got into Princeton, so you've got one good kid," he quipped.

"I've got two great kids," Kayla declared. "Things are going to get better for this family, I just know it. This is the start of it turning around for us."

"Well, it won't get better for me unless I get to school on time," Dust noted as he glanced at his watch.

"Okay, let's go." Kayla ushered her children away from their father's grave. Dusty looked back briefly as she clutched the acceptance application to her chest and mouthed the words thank you.

She knew that if it hadn't been for her father's vision for her life, she would never have gone after such an immense dream. And now it was coming true for her, and she knew that her father would be with her each step of the way.