Losing Him (Mitchell Family #8)(12)
The woman led Heather over to a bunch of ladies that were there from church, leaving me standing there with Jacob and Van. She crouched down and looked at my son. “Hey, kiddo. Do you remember me?”
He ducked back behind my leg.
“You were at the church picnic with your mom and my little girl played with you.”
He slowly walked out and stared at her. “I’m Jacob.”
“I know.” She smiled. “How are you doing?”
“My Nana is dead. Her body is here, but she moved to Heaven. We can’t go see her though. I’m not allowed there. That’s so stupid. I should be allowed to see my Nana, but now I can’t.” He stuck out his bottom lip and just stood there waiting for her to reply.
“You know, I heard that when Nana’s go to Heaven, they become angels.”
“Can she fly?” He seemed excited. Van looked up at me and smiled before answering him.
“Maybe. Angels watch over us and keep us safe. I bet she’s watching over you right now.”
“But I can’t see her.” He actually looked around the room for her.
“That’s because angels are so special that we can’t ever see them, but we can still talk to them. Whatever you want to say to her, she’ll be able to hear you.”
“Really?”
“Yep,” she assured him.
Jacob went running over to tell his mother. Van stood up and looked at me. “I hope I helped. Kids are hard to read. I know explaining death is complicated.”
“Yeah, thanks for doing that. Heather’s been having a real hard time. I’m doing my best to help out, but we’re not exactly together anymore.”
“Amy told me earlier. I’m sorry to hear that. When I saw Heather at the church picnic she seemed like she wanted things to be better. I can tell she’s changed.”
I was too confused to keep my mouth shut. “Why are you being so nice to her? I mean, didn’t she try to ruin your life? She said your family hates her.”
“My issues with Heather were back when I was dating Tyler. It wasn’t her fault that she fell in love with the same person that I did. He was the one who strung her along. I think she kept hoping that someday they would be together. Shoot, knowing Ty the way I do, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually told her it was going to happen. He had a way with charming people to think he was great. I was one of the people that believed everything out of his mouth. We were young and stupid, with no regard for what a meaningful relationship was all about. My qualms with Heather are in the past. Because of her actions, I fell in love with my husband. I don’t think we would be together had she not been around. In some ways I’m actually grateful to her. I’m married to a wonderful man and we have three beautiful children.”
This chick seemed like she appreciated Heather for sleeping with her boyfriend. I was at a loss for words. “So, you don’t hold hard feelings toward her?”
“Heather has done her share of bad things. I feel blessed enough with my life to forgive people for their actions. Unfortunately, my cousin doesn’t feel the same way. Heather almost cost them their lives. They’ll never get over that, no matter what happened.”
“But you don’t hate her?”
She shook her head. “Not anymore. I’ve come to understand that love can make someone do drastic things. Heather was a victim before she became vindictive. Had she been treated fairly, I have to believe that things would have turned out very different. Although, that would also mean that you would have never met her. Can you really say that you wouldn’t want to have known her and made a beautiful son together? Maybe all of this happened for a reason?”
When she put things into perspective like that, it was hard to wish I’d never met her. My son was everything to me. I couldn’t imagine not being his father. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Amy told me that you want to talk to our family. I think it’s good that you want to know everything, but you need to know that once you do know, there is no going back. If Heather has changed like I think she has then why would it even matter what happened in her past?”
“Are you a counselor or something?” This chick was like Dr. Phil.
She laughed. “Hardly. I’m just a mom who has seen my fair share of tragedy. I live every day like it is my last. I’ve forgiving people for their mistakes and learned to love myself and be grateful for what God has given me. Not all people get to have second chances. I don’t want to disappoint the man upstairs for mine.” She pointed up, like she knew God personally. My mother would have loved this girl and everything she stood for. She was like a living angel herself.
“I get it. I really do. Still, I think I need to know who she was before I can move forward. I just want to know the whole story from the beginning. She’s told me that she has issues with everyone in your family. I want to know why. I need to know how she got involved with Rick and why Conner used her the way he did, then acted cordial to her this morning. None of it makes sense and I can’t stand it anymore. I’m ready to walk away and see my son on weekends because I can’t trust his mother. Please. I just want to know the truth.”
She reached out and grabbed my arm. “I hope you find what you’re looking for. My family can be trying, but I’m sure they will shed some light on whatever questions you may still have. I just hope that when you know, you still let her explain her side.”