Page 53 of Be With Me
Chapter 26
Debbie dropped the phone next to her on the couch. She knew the call was coming but it still hurt deep. She heard the boys laugh and looked over at them, sitting on the floor watching Sesame Street. Their world just changed forever, and they didn’t even know. Probably wouldn’t even remember much about their nonna.
She’d taken the twins for a trip home a month ago to say their goodbyes. Cal and Cam had fun running around the farm with her cousin. They’d brought Debbie and her mom daisies they’d picked near the creek. Her mom had made a big deal giving them kisses and hugs, thanking them over and over. Cal had been so cute, blushing and peeking at his nonna sideways. Cam just climbed in her lap and told her a story. Debbie was glad they’d had those times. She was glad she had lots of pictures of them with her mom, she would frame some and put them in their room. She reached for her mother’s necklace at her neck; her mother had placed the family tree charm around her neck before they left. Telling her that she and her daddy would be watching out for them from above and that they’d always be in her heart.
“Mama, you crieded—” Cal said.
“We be good,” Cam told her, climbing onto the couch and wiping her cheek while Cal ran from the room. He came back in a minute pulling his and Cam’s blankets with him. What sweethearts she had.
“Mama will be okay, boys. Is Sesame Street over?” she asked, keeping to their schedule. They ate lunch then watched the day’s episode before nap time. “Is it time to nap?”
Cam shook his head while Cal nodded. Seems like one was trying to avoid nap time. “Cam? If you’re not tired that’s okay, you can just have quiet time in your bed.” Cam rubbed at his eyes so that wasn’t it. “What’s wrong?” She pulled Cam into her lap and Cal curled up at her side.
“Mama’s sad—” Cam laid his head on Debbie’s chest and wrapped his little arms around her.
“we ‘tect you for Papa,” Cal finished.
Debbie wrapped her arms around both boys and just held them. She needed to call Luny and let him know her mom was gone but right now, Cal and Cam could tell something was going on so her focus needed to be on them. She and Luny had been trying hard to figure out what they’d tell the twins when the time came. They didn’t want to tell them that she’d gone to sleep and wasn’t going to wake up. Debbie’d never figure out how that was good for children. As the boys’ breathing evened out, she just relaxed back into the couch. As she drifted, she remembered an early episode of Sesame Street when an actor from the show died and they had to explain it to Big Bird. Maybe she could find the show on DVD or YouTube.
For now? She was going to take the cuddles and comfort for her boys.
§ § §
Mooney was keeping a close eye on Debbie. She seemed to be handling everything fine, but he knew that her mom’s passing was killing her on the inside. Yes, she had him and the twins, but they were her only immediate family now. Her uncle and cousins would be there for her, but Mooney knew it wasn’t the same. She’d been walking around her parents’ house for the last day, running her fingers over pictures or knickknacks. Like she was trying to absorb the memories from them. Tommy had given her a bottle of perfume when they’d arrived, telling her they found a note with it telling them to make sure that Debbie spritzed her wrists.
The heptad had circled around him, Debbie and the boys. Mackey had been the first to arrive since he was stationed at Benning. When Spook arrived his girlfriend, Jeanine, was with him. She’d told Spook that if they were important to him, then she needed to get to know them all. Brian got here last, coming all the way from Hawaii. Kevin’s expression of horror had made Debbie laugh, being the most city boy of them, when he stepped in manure. Cal and Cam were having fun with their uncles but would run to Debbie every so often and just give her hugs. They kept asking where Nonna was but the heptad would distract them and they were off. Ah to be three.
Mooney didn’t know where Debbie’d found it, but she’d found an episode of Sesame Street talking about death. He didn’t think the boys really understood what was going on, but he knew they realized their mama was sad. One day they’d figure this all out. Being not even three made it hard to understand losing someone.
The wake yesterday was hard on Debbie, listening to all the stories about her mom from the visitors but she didn’t have to worry about the twins. Danny and Mike had paid their respects to Debbie and the family during the early visiting hours then took the boys to the park and McDonald’s while the rest of the heptad mingled, never too far from him and Debbie in case they needed something. Kevin and Mackey had fed the boys dinner and done bath and bedtime during the evening visitation.
Mooney grabbed a cup of coffee and went looking for Debbie. She wasn’t in bed with him when he woke and when he’d checked on the twins, she wasn’t in there either. He wandered out to the back porch and found her curled up on one of the chairs. Moving quietly, he sat down on the couch and drank his coffee. She’d talk when she was ready. It didn’t take long.
“Did you know, this is where Mom and Uncle Buddy talked sense into me about you?” she asked.
He looked around and smiled, picturing Marion sitting next to him here. “I didn’t know that but I’m glad they convinced you. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you and the boys.”
“When I was worried about what I’d do if you died, she told me in a no-nonsense tone I’d grieve and then live. I never asked her how to live without her though,” Debbie said quietly.
Mooney put down his coffee and moved over to kneel in front of his wife, taking her hands in his. “You love the twins as hard as you can. You teach them to be good men. You tell them all about their nonna and remind them how much she loved them and you remember how much she loved you.”
“Promise me some day that we’ll have a permanent home. My only home now is with you and the boys. This one isn’t mine anymore.” Debbie looked so lost. Mooney almost said that he’d get out of the military but he knew that she’d smack him hard once she was over grieving.
“This will always be your home, Deb,” Tommy said from the doorway. They’d talked to Tommy while Marion was alive and he was offering them fair market value for the house and farm. He’d been living here with his wife, Julie, and taking care of Debbie’s mom. “Whether your name is on the deed or not, you better just walk up to the door and open it. You might not be my biological sister, but you are the sister of my heart. We grew up side-by-side and I’d be heartbroken if you didn’t visit.”
He moved out of the way as Debbie flew out of the chair and into Tommy’s arms. Mooney watched the cousins hold each other and cry. After a few minutes, Tommy pulled back from their hug and looked Debbie in the eye.
“The twins need to come and visit. They need to be able to run in the fields and swim in the creek like we did. You understand?” Tommy asked while staring at Mooney over Debbie’s head. He nodded. Mooney would do all he could to make sure that Debbie and the twins didn’t lose this family connection. Yes, they had his parents and brothers along with the heptad — his brothers by choice — but this family here was just as important.
