to Cole’s eyes. He hurriedly blinked them back, hoping no one had noticed.
Charlie was staring into space and Meg’s full attention appeared focused on the boy. She stroked his hair and murmured soothing sounds.
“What else, sweetie?” she asked, her voice low. “What else do you think happens when you do something bad?”
For a moment it appeared the child might not respond. Then he lifted his head and pulled the thumb from his mouth.
Cole smiled encouragingly, wanting the boy to know he had his support. But Charlie’s eyes remained downcast.
“They go away and never come back.”
Charlie mumbled the words, but they were still loud enough to hear.
“Who—?”
“Had you gotten into trouble the morning of the car accident?” Meg asked.
Cole now understood where she was headed and he didn’t like it one bit. The question made it sound as if she thought the child had some culpability.
“I left my toys out and Mommy tripped and fell.” Charlie’s chin trembled. “She cried. Daddy was mad at me.”
“What did he do?” Meg’s expression held no condemnation, only curiosity.
“He hugged Mommy until she stopped crying then told me I couldn’t play with my dinosaurs the rest of the week.” The boy chewed on his lower lip. “Daddy and I picked up the toys so no one else would get hurt. But they did. They both got hurt.”
“Your parents were killed in a car accident, son. It didn’t have anything to do with the toys on the floor. They didn’t want to leave you,” Cole said. “Your mommy and daddy loved you very much.”
Charlie glanced at Meg.
“Uncle Cole is right,” she said. “Do you remember what happened that day?”
The child slowly nodded. “A big truck hit our car.”
“That’s right.” Meg gently pushed a stray strand of hair back from his face. “The driver of the truck had been drinking alcohol and he weaved into your daddy’s lane. There was no time for your car to get out of the way.”
“I want Mommy. I want Daddy.” Tears ran down Charlie’s cheeks and he popped the thumb back into his mouth.
“I know you do.” Meg’s eyes filled with tears and this time she let them fall. “You loved them and they loved you very, very much. Every time I came to visit, that’s what they both told me.”
“But Mommy fell down,” Charlie insisted. “She cried.”
“I bet when she got into the car she wasn’t crying,” Meg said, her lips curving up, a smile of remembrance in her eyes. “Your mommy loved car rides.”
“She was happy,” Charlie said. “We were singing when…”
His small voice trailed off.
Cole thought back to those days he and Janae had spent together in Austin. He’d almost forgotten how she liked to sing along with the radio while they were driving down the road. Tears stung the backs of his lids.
Janae would be so distressed that Charlie, her beloved son, carried around guilt over something that was outside of his control.
For the first time Cole understood how different it was to have a parent die suddenly. At least with his father’s death, they’d had time to prepare and no words had been left unsaid. “If your mom was sitting with us now, what do you think she’d say to you?”
Perhaps it wasn’t the right thing to ask, but he was flying blind here.
The boy thought for a moment then sat up straight.
“She’d say, ‘Charlie, why are you crying?’” His tone mimicked his mother’s perfectly. “And I’d say, ‘Because I miss you, Mommy.’”
Meg’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’d tell her,” Charlie continued, “that I want her and Daddy back here with me.”
“You know they’d be here if they could,” Cole said. “My dad didn’t want to die and leave my brother and me. Aunt Meg’s mom and dad died on that same road where your parents had their accident. They didn’t want to leave her, either.”
Charlie thought for a moment. “I bet they’re happy now.”
Meg cocked her head.
“’Cause they can see us eating popcorn and playing games. They know we’re not alone anymore.”
Out of the mouth of babes…
Cole swallowed the lump that rose to his throat. On his deathbed, his dad had told him and his brother that he would always be in their back pockets. That no matter where he went or what happened, he would be with them.
It was a good thought, but Cole had longed for an earthly father. Someone to play ball with him and come to his games. Someone to guide and support him as he grew up.
Losing a parent could be