Grand Haven, Michigan, June
Elizabeth looked in her rear view mirror at the three children in her backseat. Her five year old son, Jack Jr, whom she called JJ, stared out the window from his booster, his arms around his teddy.
Next to him was her eight year old niece Kendra who had tears rolling down her face as she leaned her head on her ten year old brother Julian's shoulder. He stared out the window on his side of the car, no expression on his face.
Then Elizabeth touched fourteen year old Evelyn's arm in the seat next to her. "Sweetie?"
"Aunt Beth, I really don't want to talk."
"I know. I just want to know if you are hungry."
"I don't know. Probably."
Elizabeth headed to the nearby fast food restaurant and ordered chicken nuggets, fries and cheeseburgers along with shakes for everyone including herself. She absolutely didn't care at all about eating right after just burying Vi.
Then she drove them all home to her three bedroom house which was right on the beach of Lake Michigan. She rented it but it was perfect and she didn't intend to move. Well, she hadn't until now. When she inherited her nephew and two nieces a week before, three bedrooms became insufficient.
Evelyn took Kendra's hand and they walked together up to the door. Elizabeth opened JJ's door and he climbed out. "Momma, I'm hungry. That food smells good."
"I know. We need to change out of our nice clothes before we can eat, though."
"Okay." Julian had beaten him to the bedroom they were sharing and the door was shut. But in JJ's mind, it was his room so he just walked in.
"Go away!" Julian yelled, wiping his cheeks. "Go away, JJ!"
"This is my room too!" JJ yelled back.
Julian ran out of the room and down the stairs and then out the sliding door to the beach. Elizabeth didn't really know how to deal with the crazy amount of different emotions that all three of her new charges were showing. Kendra and Evelyn cried a lot but kept quiet. Julian just yelled, showing his anger easily.
Elizabeth grabbed a shake. "I'll be right back, JJ. Go change and then you can eat."
"Okay, Momma."
"Thank you, bud." Elizabeth took the cup to Julian, handing it to him as she joined him, ignoring the sand that was now embedding itself into her clothes, not to mention his.
"I know you probably aren't hungry, Julian, but at least drink your shake."
"I want Mom back! Why did she have to die?"
Elizabeth couldn't answer that. She missed her too. She put her arm around him and pulled him close, running her fingers through his hair. "I want her back too."
Vi had died a week before in a car accident when a drunk driver hit her car head on. The plan had always been to take care of Vi's kids if anything should happen since their own father had relinquished his rights years before, but getting that phone call in the middle of the night was not something Elizabeth expected.
She had gone to the hospital with her parents to identify Vi's body and then she had taken the kids home with her that very night. All of their lives had been turned upside down in a blink of an eye. Now, they just needed to get past the initial shock and start to move forward.
After a few moments of crying with Julian, she kissed his temple and smiled. "I know it's not the same as having your mom here with us, but I love you, hon. So much and your sisters. We are going to get through this together, okay?"
"If you say so, Aunt Beth."
"I do."
Evelyn, Kendra and JJ walked out of the house in their play clothes with the food and a blanket. "I thought we could have a picnic on the beach," Evelyn said. "Mom would have liked that."
"Sounds great, Evie. Let's do that. We will say a blessing and then let's think about good memories that we have."
Elizabeth sat on the couch that evening after all the kids were in bed and allowed herself a bit of time to grieve. And like magic, her phone rang, because her best friend Faith always knew when she needed her.
"Hey, Faith."
"Hey, Elizabeth. How are you holding up?"
"Not well. It just brings back the memories from Jack's funeral and…I'm just really sad."
"Want me to come over? Carson can stay with the boys."
"Yes, please."
"I'll be over in a couple minutes."
Faith came over about five minutes later in her pajamas and robe, walking over from their house next door. "Hey. I have some triple fudge ice cream here."
"Perfect!" Elizabeth took a spoon from Faith and then they snuggled close to share.
"So…Jack."
"Yeah. Jack. He sure was a good husband. Even though it was only for a year."
"Yeah and he loved you and JJ with all of his heart."
Jack died about two months before JJ was born but they knew he was a boy and they had named him together the moment they found out. Then a few months later, Jack was gone, shot in a robbery gone wrong while on duty. "I loved him too."
"He knew that, hon. Do you still miss him?"
"It's been over five years but I miss the idea of him. I miss his magical kisses and touches. I miss his dimples and his long eyelashes and green eyes. But we are fine. JJ and I are making it and now JJ and I and Kendra, Evelyn and Julian will too."
"How are they?"
They talked for a while longer, eating the entire pint of triple fudge and then parting with a hug. "You are strong, Elizabeth Thornton. You are the best one to take care of those kids now."
"Thanks, friend."
"Love you."
"Love you too."
The next morning, Elizabeth got up and started making waffles and bacon. She was off work for the day so she decided that after breakfast, she would help the kids unpack the rest of their stuff and then they would go to the beach.
"Momma," JJ said from the doorway. He was so cute with his pajamas and bare feet and messy hair. He looked just like his father.
"Hi, baby."
"Can I help you cook?"
"Sure." She picked him up, gave him a hug and deposited him on the counter next to her, handing him a bowl and spoon. "Mix it good, JJ."
"Kay, Momma."
The other kids trickled in a little later. "Morning, everyone," she said. Julian walked over to the table and sat down, looking barely awake. Kendra was in tears already so Elizabeth gave her a big hug and then she wandered over to the table too. "How are you, Evie?"
"I don't know. Hungry, I guess."
Elizabeth gave her a hug too. "Love you, sweet Evie."
"Love you too," she said, a tear running down her cheek. "Aunt Beth?"
"Yes?"
"I need to go to the store. I need tampons," she told her, blushing.
"Okay. We can go after breakfast. We should get some other things too."
"Can I play with Gavin and Graham?" JJ asked about Faith's boys. They were good friends.
"Maybe. Julian, do you want to go too or do you want to go to the store with us girls?"
"I want to stay here. I'm old enough."
"I would rather you didn't quite yet. So let me know if you want to play next door or go with us girls."
"I don't know them, Aunt Beth."
"I know, but you'll love them and they have a pool too. We will only be gone an hour or so."
"I guess I'll go over there."
"Okay, hon."
A few minutes later, they all had waffles and Elizabeth was pleased to see them all eat a little something.
After they finished up, she asked them to put their dishes in the sink and then to head upstairs to change.
About an hour later, Julian sat on the edge of the pool, his feet dangling in the water while JJ and the other two boys jumped in over and over again. They asked him to get in but he didn't want to.
"Don't feel like swimming?" Mr. Shepherd asked him, sitting down next to him.
"No, sir."
"I'm sorry about your mom. How are you holding up?"
"It stinks."
"It does. I lost my mom too. When I was your age." Julian looked up at him.
"You did?"
"Yep. I was sad and angry for a long time too."
"And then what?"
"And then my Dad told me that my mom wouldn't want me to be so sad and angry. She would want me to be nice to people and smile again."
"I don't have a dad. He left us."
"But you have an Aunt Beth and a Grandma Grace and a Grandpa William, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you have two sisters and a pretty cool cousin."
"Yeah."
"And if you ever need anything and you can't talk to Beth about it, or you'd rather not, you can always talk to me."
"I can?"
"Of course. Just let Aunt Beth know you need to and you can call me or come over."
"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Shepherd."
"You are welcome, Julian."
Carson pushed off the side and dove under the water and then scooped up all three boys one at a time and tossed them into the air. Julian let himself smile for a bit. Mr. Shepherd was pretty cool. He was easy to talk to too. Like someone's dad should be.
Then he decided to be happy again. Just for a few minutes. He jumped in the pool and joined the fun, knowing that's what his mom would want for him.
Just down the street, Nathan Grant and his niece Allie drove into the driveway of their new house. It was a new start for them. Nathan got a job as a family grief counselor at Grand Haven General. He had been working with adults but when Allie's mom died, his own sister, he felt like he needed to help children like Allie. He took a little more schooling and now, he was making a go of it.
"Uncle Nathan, look! The water is beautiful."
"Yeah, it is, Al." He was grateful for the rental he found. It was on the water and an affordable price. Town was closeby and so was the hospital. "Let's go see the inside. I'm sure you are going to love your room."
"Cool." Allie was an easy going kid. She had struggled a lot when her mom died but now she was thriving.
She had lots of friends in Hope Valley Ohio and he knew that she would make a lot more here too.
"What should we get for lunch?"
"Mexican," she said, licking her lips. "I want enchiladas and extra pico."
"You got it, Al."
As they moved all their stuff into the house, the furniture truck showed up and made things a bit more chaotic.
"There's a Mexican place on Main St., Uncle Nathan. It says they deliver."
"Excellent." He handed her some cash. "Go ahead."
They sat on the beach out back when they got their food. "I can't believe we live here," Allie said as she ate her enchiladas.
They watched as two little boys came out of one house and walked into the next one. The older of the two came back out and sat down on the deck, his head in his hands. Then Nathan saw his shoulders start to shake. He was upset about something.
"I think he's sad, Uncle Nathan."
"Yeah."
"I wonder what happened. Can I go talk to him?"
"Sure, but leave him be if he doesn't want to talk, okay?"
She nodded and walked over to him. "Hi," she said, waving.
Julian looked up and wiped his cheeks. "Hi."
"I'm Allie. My Uncle Nathan and I just moved in next door."
Julian nodded but didn't say much.
"Are you sad about something?"
Something about the girl made him want to talk. So he did. "My mom died last week."
"I'm sorry. My mom died too."
"She did?"
"Yeah, last year. That's why I live with Uncle Nathan. He's pretty cool though, even if he's a guy."
Julian nodded. "I live with my Aunt Beth. She's cool for a girl."
*I know that all my previous stories have been Jack and Elizabeth stories. I also know that most of you have opinions about her being with someone else or don't want to give any other possibility a shot. That being said, loss and moving forward is a real thing in life and this story has helped me heal and move on from my own loss. I hope you enjoy!*