10
Leaning on Each other
Heath sat on the porch and watched as the last of his family, meaning siblings and their families, his stepmother and friends left. His heart was still heavy and his body numb. It all seemed like a bad dream, one that he wanted desperately for someone to awake him from.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Robert Jacques, who taken over when Dr. Merar's grandson moved back east, paused at Heath standing before him and the children sitting quietly by the fireplace, and then continued speaking, "There's nothing I can do for her. Her heart was weakened when she had Scarlet Fever last year and, as you know, she's never been the same." The good doctor laid his hand on Heath's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "She wants to see you and the children." Dr. Jacques had then left leaving Heath to take his children into see their mother.
"Hello there, cowboy," Bridget had smiled weakly up at Heath and then smiled at their children, "Hello, my dear babies. I've been waiting."
The visit had been short and tears shed. Two hours after the visit ended, Bridget had left her mortal existence in peace.
Heat sat looking at nothing in particular; the children were inside talking to each other. He thought on the large family he and Bridget had wanted; the one the man upstairs had denied them, and he wanted to scream. Giving up the dream of a large family had been easy enough; after all there had been the orphans who constantly visited. But this, this was too much. His children needed their mother…and he needed his wife.
Heath heard the front door of his home open. He turned his head just enough to see who had opened the door. It was ten year old Byron and five year old Martha; both looked just as lost and forlorn as he. Heath held out his arms.
Martha flew up into her father's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Byron quickly made his way his father's side; Heath slid his free arm around his son's waist. Not knowing what to say, Heath simply held on.
The wind seemed to know father and children needed comfort not harassment, as it slowed down the pace it had been blowing. The depressed silence that hung around the home was broken when Martha whispered, "Daddy, Byron says mother is in heaven. Is there really a heaven?"
Heath was startled and he looked down upon the top of his daughter's head. Before he could say a word Byron, who had barely heard what his sister had said, nodded and solemnly added, "Of course there is; mother always told us there was, and she never lied."
Tears again welled up in Heath's eyes and he fought to hold them back. It took a few moments before he dared speak. When he did, Heath made sure his daughter was sitting straight up and looking at him. "Yes, dear, there's a heaven. And I'm sure your mother was welcomed there with open arms by my mama, my father, your Uncle Eugene, Aunt Rachel, Hannah and others who have gone on before us. They're probably holding a party right now." He liked to think so anyway.
He wasn't surprised when Martha shook her head and whispered softly again. "I want her here to be here with us. What are we doing to do without her?"
Heath again pulled his young daughter close. He wanted to say something, anything, to help her but he was at a loss for words. That is until he remembered what his Aunt Rachel had told him a number of times growing up, especially when he'd hear about someone losing a member of their family and wondered what they'd do. "When we have a bad day and things seem to be too rough," Heath choked up as he answered his daughter and looked at his children, "we still have your grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins to turn on. Most importantly," he paused as a tear succeeded in falling, "we can start helping ourselves right now by leaning on each other. Your mother would understand allowing ourselves to grieve, but she'd have our hides if we withdrew from each other and failed to support this family."
Byron, who had refused to let himself cry, as he thought he had to be "strong", sat down on the other side of his father, leaned against him and started crying. Heath held his children even closer than before and closed his eyes. His heart might be broken, but at least he had two very special blessings as a reminder of the time he'd had with his late wife.