It broke my heart to see my father lying there so still in bed. His face, wizened and gaunt, was almost as white as the sheets, and his once coal-black hair had turned grey and now lay limply on the pillow that supported his head. His eyes lit up his whole face when he saw me. "Bonnie! You've come back to me!" he cried weakly.
"Of course I did, Father." Within seconds I was in his arms, and I clung to him as I had when I'd been a little girl. As I did so, memories of the last time I'd seen him returned to me. What had been supposed to be a visit to England of a few months' duration had become years of living abroad, and only now did I realize how much time away from the person who loved me most of all I'd lost. Tears of regret coursed down my cheeks and splashed onto the quilt covering my father's frail body. "I'm...so...sorry..." I gasped.
"Now, none of that," my father said sternly. "You're here now. That's all that matters." I realized that he understood, that he knew that I was a lot like himself, a free spirit eager to see the world, to experience life.
"This is my husband George, and our younger daughter, Liza," I told him. "Our older daughter Katie couldn't be here, but she sends her regards."
George and Liza both embraced my father in greeting. "You are so beautiful, just like your mother," my father told Liza.
"Thank you," she replied shyly.
For a number of days, George, Liza, and I stayed with my parents. Liza and I helped to care for my father, and I became re-acquainted with the rest of the family. Wade and his wife, Maggie, had three daughters and two sons, Charles, Susan, Emma, James, and Polly. Ella and her husband, Roger, had four daughters and two sons, Mary, Alice, William, Gerald, Maud, and Ruth. Both my siblings were grandparents now. They were full of questions about my experiences in Russia, France, and England, and I answered them the best I could.
They were all fascinated, of course, by George and his exotic foreignness. They talked to him at length just to hear the sound of his voice, asking many questions about what it had been like to grow up as the son of a Tsar, what his various family members had been like, what it had been like to see Egypt and Japan. After many years, my gregarious husband was once again able to enjoy celebrity status, this time amongst his newly discovered kin.
In getting to know her many cousins, Liza also learned how radically different their childhoods in the American South had been from her own. I enjoyed watching her taste grits, turnip greens, black-eyed peas, corn bread, and pecan pie for the first time.
My father seemed to have been temporarily rejuvenated by seeing me again and meeting Liza; however, as the days passed, he grew weaker and weaker, until at last my mother gathered us all together around his bed, telling us that his time had come. We all watched as he drew his last breath.
The funeral was several days later. It was one of the saddest days of my life, if not the very saddest. I sat with my mother and George and my siblings and their spouses. My mother wept inconsolably.
In addition to my Aunt Suellen and Uncle Will, and my Aunt Carreen, who was a nun, I also noticed Beau Wilkes with his aging parents, Ashley and Melanie, and his wife, Nancy.
"Bonnie Blue?" His mouth fell open in amazement. "Is that really you?"
"It's really me, Beau, and this is my husband George and our daughter Liza."
"Any grandchildren yet?"
"Not yet. You?"
"Our Betsy gave us our first grandson, Nicholas, just seven months ago," he said proudly. I thought about Henry and Katie back in London. I felt sure she'd probably be expecting soon, if she wasn't already.
The following days were very difficult for all of us. My mother cried and cried, and I tried my best to console her.
"I've lost the only man I'll ever love!" she wailed.
"You have to find a way to go on," I told her. "It's what he would want you to do."
"I know," she replied. "But it's so hard!"
The only thing to be happy about was that Liza had found love again, with Beau's youngest son, Walter. They'd met at my father's funeral, and soon he was courting her on a regular basis. I was glad to see the eyes that had been dulled with sorrow over the loss of Nigel sparkling with happiness again, and I silently prayed that no unforeseen catastrophe would mar that happiness.