Dear Evie: The Lost Memories of a Lost Child (21 page)

Katie’s Prayer

There is a child who lives within and watches after me.

She holds my soul and keeps it safe as my body grows and vision blurs.

As innocence has breathed its last

And memories dim and scars transform,

The heart turns stone and childhood is gone.

There is a child who lives within and watches after me.

She gives a glimpse into that room of pleasant memory.

She holds it tight away from view until the dark is gone.

And light of happy thought released at last to call my own.

Epilogue

My beautiful daughter was a young woman now. I was bursting with pride because she’d decided to follow in my footsteps and get the training needed to help others. I knew she would not have her own story to tell but that would not stop her from being a wonderful counselor. She hoped to mostly work with children the way her Aunt Anna did.

I was one happy mama, but the one thing that made me the most proud for her was that her childhood had been perfectly normal. She’d suffered her little heartaches when she started liking boys. We’d argued and even screamed at each other over clothes and curfews. I’d almost lost my mind while teaching her to drive, and I knew in only a few short weeks I would cry like a baby as she left for college. The one bright spot about Gracie leaving was that she would be attending college in Oklahoma where her uncle Stephen was a professor and could keep a watch on her. She would have family to help her. She’d even agreed to live with her great-grandma Moon for the first year in order to save money and to avoid the temptation to party instead of study. If there was one thing my life had taught her, it was to appreciate what you have and not to take anything for granted.

I wasn’t the only one who would miss her terribly. Jason couldn’t talk about it without getting upset and leaving the room because of
something
he suddenly remembered he needed to do. Gracie had been like a second mom to her brothers. They were almost teenagers themselves now and of course had to put on a tough front, but they loved their big sister very much and would miss her. They would especially miss the taxi service she often provided when they wanted to go to the mall or a movie. It would put a real damper on their social lives.

As Gracie packed her car for the long drive, Jason tried to busy himself with checking tire pressure and oil levels for about the fifth time. He even added washer fluid one more time to be sure it was as full as possible. I’d mostly said my good-bye’s the night before as I helped Gracie finish her packing. I gave her all the motherly advice she would allow before she rolled her eyes and protested about me not thinking she had enough sense to come in out of the rain.

Her brothers were trying to be tough as well. They were doing all the things they knew irritated her just so she would yell at them. I knew they were hurting and that was the way they were dealing with it, so I didn’t reprimand them too much. We all hugged her again, one more time before she got into her car. Jason, William, and Franklin moved to the sidewalk to ready themselves for the wave good-bye as she pulled away. I was struggling with my emotions, determined not to cry before she pulled away. I wanted her to see me smiling in case, God forbid; we never saw each other again. I knew that was a morbid way to view things, but it was a lesson I’d learned the hard way, and it made me appreciate every second I had with those I loved. I watched her put her seat belt on and remembered back to the days I wanted to homeschool her just to keep her near me, so I would know she was safe. I knew now I had to let go and let her grow up. Before she left, I did want to make sure the last words I said were the right ones.

“Grace Margaret Hudson, I love you with all my heart, promise me you believe that,” I said while holding her face in my hands, forcing her to make a funny fish face with her lips. I kissed her loudly before letting go and stepping back. She smiled and put on her sunglasses quickly to hide the wetness in her eyes. She took one last glance toward our house and gave her dad and brothers one last wave before starting her engine. And just before she pulled away, Gracie assured me that she did know just how very much she was loved.

“I promise, Mama. I promise.”

THE END

About the Author

Author P.J. Rhea is a southern preacher’s wife. Married for forty years, she and he husband, Mike, live in their Tennessee home. There, she is surrounded by the memories and dreams of her youth in the very place where she’s watched her children and grandchildren grow. And there, amid the sweet, summer breezes over the fertile land between the Duck and Piney Rivers, P.J. Rhea listened to her heart and the echoes of history. It was from those enchanting melodies that ideas sprang forth which would become her first published book,
Old Harbor: Sisters of Circumstance
, followed by
Dear Evie
.

 A mother of three, a grandmother of six, and a friend to many, Rhea’s knack for telling stories comes through in this, her second novel.