Hey last chapter before I go!
Ch 8
Anita and William had gone back to the house after their small picnic. William had put the horses into the pasture.Anita walked up to the house and went to see Joseph. Lara held the baby out to his mother.
" Ah! There he is!" Anita said happily. She brought him outside and over to his father.
William took him from her gently, and tossed him into the air before catching him again.Joseph smiled and giggled happily; William kissed him on the forehead. Anita smiled and took him from his father and carried him on her hip as the three of them walked back into the house. They all were one happy family again for now. The gentle spring breeze floated down bringing a soft curtain of dogwood blossoms with it. Anita gave Joseph a kiss on the cheek and carried him upstairs for his afternoon nap. She had set him down in the crib and he smiled. William walked into the nursery.
" Is he sleeping yet?" He asked.
" No, He will." She answered as they left the room.
She went down to the sitting room and played the pianoforte. She played a lullaby and above in the nursery drifted off to sleep.
She stopped playing and William stepped over to her and kissed her cheek.
" You haven't played in a while," He said.
" I don't need to. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful family to keep me occupied." She said.
" True." He answered leading her to the kitchen. He was beginning to tell her something when someone knocked on the door.
He went to open it and found a dispatch rider holding out a note. William accepted it and closed the door. He opened the note and read through it quickly. His expression changed and he crumpled up the note.
" William what is it?" Anita asked.
He took a breath and looked at her sadly.
" I've been required to return to Fort Carolina, and there is news of your mother." He said.
" Oh, how is she?" Anita asked waiting to hear news of her father and Lillian as well.
" Anita, she passed away yesterday." He said sadly.
Anita felt weak in her knees and collapsed when William caught her, lifting her and setting her on the loveseat in the sitting room. She looked up at him her eyes distant and clouded.
" No, no, no, no…" She repeated.
William held her close as she realized her loss.
" Where is the letter?" She asked in a hollow voice.
He handed it to her and she read it over and over till she realized that her mother wasn't coming back.
" God no!" She sobbed letting go all the unshed tears.
She buried her face into William's shoulder, and he stroked her hair soothingly. He didn't say anything; as he held her he just let her cry out all of her pain. And soon she fell asleep exhausted from all the events that day. The joy of new life and the grief from losing one.