Its life little one
Julia was getting ready for bed when she heard a whimper coming from behind the bedroom door. Julia got up from her bed slowly with the help of her cane. Her bones protested but Julia knew she had to address the whimpering from beyond the door. She hobbled over to the door and pulled it open. She smiled softly when she saw who it was. There at Julia's bedroom door was her four year old grandson, William. He stood in his footy pajamas and he clutched at his teddy bear, tears welling up in his dark brown eyes.
"My darling, whatever is the matter?" Julia asked quietly, not wanted to wake William's two older sisters who were sleeping down the hall. It was their last night at Julia's and they had spent one too many nights up late already. William sniffled and rubbed his eyes.
"G…" William paused and tried to form the correct word. He tried several times to say 'Grandma' but could not achieve the proper pronunciation and so he settled for what he could pronounce. "Ganma, I have a bad dream." Julia smiled softly at her grandson and held out her hand to the little boy.
"How about you sleep with Grandma tonight?" William nodded and quickly slipped his tiny hand into Julia's older one. Julia led her grandson to the bed and sat down. She put the cane against the bed and reached down, lifting William onto the bed with her. The little boy climbed under the sheets and waited. Julia maneuvered herself until she was under the covers. William moved over to Julia and snuggled against her side. Julia wrapped one arm around her grandson and reached up with the other, her hand tugging at the clip that held up her hair. Her once golden now soft grey hair tumbled down to rest against her shoulders. Julia twisted her body to put the clip on the bedside table. She paused as she took a moment to glance her wedding photograph. Julia sighed and let her fingers ghost over her husband's smiling face.
"Miss him?" William asked quietly. Julia smiled softly. William was just like her husband; even though he was only four the little boy was highly observant. Julia picked up the small picture frame and moved it to show her grandson.
"I miss him every day." Julia whispered. "Your grandfather was the love of my life and my best friend." Julia knew that William wouldn't remember this conversation in the morning but sometimes Julia liked talking about her husband and Julia felt like it would soothe William and distract him from his bad dream.
"He loved you so very much." Julia said looking at her grandson. "You were his boy. After raising two daughters, your grandfather loved spending time with you." Julia stroked her fingers over the picture. "He was the best man I have ever known. He was…" Julia paused to collect her thoughts, trying to accurately describe her husband to her grandson.
"He was kind and loving." Julia chuckled softly. "Sometimes he wasn't very good at showing his love but once he made his feelings clear he was very loving. And he was willing to do anything to help the ones he loved. He's saved my life more than once, but that's another story." William brought his tiny fingers up to Julia's.
"Smart?" William asked. Julia smiled.
"Yes, he was. He had one of the most fascinating minds I had ever seen. It was something that I found attractive in him. Your grandfather was very bright and could have worked as a university professor, scientist, or inventor but he chose to work as a detective because he wanted to stop the evil in the world. He wanted to make this city a safe place." Julia could feel tears coming to her eyes as she spoke so fondly of her William. Her observant grandson noticed this and hugged his grandmother tightly.
"No sad." He pleaded quietly. Julia wiped at the tear that escaped her eye and placed the picture back on the bedside table. She hugged her grandson back reassuringly.
"I miss your grandfather, William. I miss him more than I ever thought imaginable but I'm not sad. Do you know why?" The little boy shook head sleepily, rubbing his eyes and Julia placed a soft kiss on the top of his head. "I am not sad for two reasons. Firstly, I know he would not want me to be sad and because I know that it is life. We all live, and we all die little one;there's no escaping it.. But do you want to know what the second reason is?" William nodded and Julia smiled. "I still have you and your sisters; I still have my family." When Julia looked down, William was asleep. She smiled softly and turned that lamp on the bedside table off before smiling into the darkness.
"Besides, I'll never truly lose you my love, isn't that correct?" She whispered into the air, knowing William was listening before settling in and falling asleep.