Page 99 of Collision

Shelly and Brody were among the last to leave.

“Thanks for coming, guys,” Chase said as he stood to shake Brody’s hand. His hand returned to mine as soon as he retracted it.

“Of course,” Shelly replied, giving him a squeeze. “I’ll never forget him, or what he did for my friend.”

I hugged her tightly. “Miss you, Toad.”

“Miss you, too, Frog. Call me tomorrow.”

I nodded.

Khloe tugged on Beverly’s dress. “Mommy? Can I hold daddy in the car?”

“Sure, honey. Just hold it very carefully.”

Khloe nodded solemnly. “I will.”

And she did. She held the urn in her tiny hands, patting it lovingly every once in a while.

I quickly swiped away a tear that had escaped before anybody saw.

Beverly did not choose to have people back at the house. I completely understood, and was actually relieved that it would be just us.

Tanner went straight to his room, and closed the door.

Beverly made two cups of tea, and set them down on the dining room table.

“Thank you,” I said as she slid the cup over to me. I snuck another look at Khloe, who was sitting next to me with the urn in her lap.

“Merry, where are your dad’s ashes? Do you have them?”

“No. My dad is in a cemetery.”

“That’s the place where they put you in the dirt?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

Her nose scrunched up in disgust. “Yuck. I would never want to be put in the dirt with all the bugs.”

“Me neither.”

Chase raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“The whole idea of being put in a box and buried under the ground is so…” I looked at Khloe and chose my words wisely. “Weird.”

Khloe nodded her head feverishly. “So weird!”

Beverly smiled. “I like the idea of having dad here with us.”

The tiniest Brooks child hugged the urn. “Me, too.”

“Have you visited your dad yet?” Chase asked.

I shook my head, and looked down at my lap. “No. I feel like he would understand. It’s not really him that I’d be visiting.”

“You don’t have to visit a cemetery to remember your father,” Beverly offered.

“Do you think about your dad every day?” Khloe innocently asked.

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