Baby Love (Baby #2)(117)

My father was still inside with her. I didn't budge. Trey remained next to me not saying anything further. It was several minutes later that my father emerged. He came over to where Trey and I were standing. His eyes were red. He had been crying. It distressed me to see him like that.

"Tylar," he said to me softly, "Would you like to say good-bye to your mother? She looks beautiful."

I stood up. My legs were wobbly. Everything had a surreal feeling to it. Trey was beside me, taking my arm. My father stayed outside as we made our way back inside the mausoleum. I saw the opened lid of the casket. It was the type that had two lids. Only the top one had been opened. Her casket was on a dolly of some sort so that it could be wheeled outside to the waiting hearse.

Trey held my hand as we walked to the side of it. The first thing that I saw was her hair. It was just like mine. It was cut in long layers that framed her face.

As I looked at her I was amazed at how much I resembled her. It looked like me laying there asleep. She had been buried in a red sweater dress. Her hands were clasped together resting on her stomach. I looked at the satin pillow where her head rested. I saw the caul that Trinity had spoken of.

It looked like a thin nylon veil that had been draped

on the pillow next to her.

Someone had placed a ragged teddy bear in the casket next to her. It might have been mine. I felt the tears stream down my face. I had no memory of her at all.

She had carried me; given birth to me; fed and nurtured me yet I had no memory of any of that. I had been cheated out of a mother; she had been cheated out of a life. Trey squeezed my hand gently. My sobs escaped as I looked at this beautiful creature that I had never known.

"Mommy," I sobbed, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

"We will make this right. I promise you that."

I leaned over and brushed a kiss against her hair.

Trey enfolded me in his arms and led me outside once again.

My father was waiting in the limo for us. The deputy sheriff and the cemetery personnel wheeled the now closed casket out to the waiting hearse. She would be taken to Jackson for the forensic autopsy. Her body would then be placed back into her final resting place here. My father said that he would be back to ensure everything went as planned.

"When will we know about the contents of the metal box?" I asked.

"Once it has all been reviewed by the D.A's office anything that is not pertinent to her death will be released. Anything deemed pertinent as evidence will remain in custody with the authorities until such time as the case is resolved in criminal court."

"How long could all of that take?"

"Tylar don't worry; I will use any means possible to avoid dragging this out. I have scheduled a meeting with the D.A. day after tomorrow."

I leaned against Trey in the car.

"I want to go home Trey."

"We will go home baby. How about tomorrow?"

Trey booked our flight when we got back to my father's estate. We had a late afternoon flight out of Baton Rouge.

My father spent the evening playing with Preston while Trey and I relaxed in front of the massive fireplace.

The following morning Dad took us on a tour of the grounds. He had several thoroughbred horses stabled in his barn.

"Do you ride?" he asked me.

"A little," I replied smiling.

He had one of the hired hands saddle up two horses Trey had stayed behind with Preston. My father and I rode the trail that went the full perimeter of the estate.

It was breathtakingly beautiful. I could tell that my father had a passion for horses. He was an excellent English rider as well. Perhaps something else that I had inherited from him I thought.

When it was time to depart for the airport I hugged my father tightly. I had grown close to him these past several days. I knew that we would continue to bond as parent and child. He promised he would let me know the status of the investigation as it unfolded.

He shook Trey's hand before we left and mentioned that he had recused himself from the decision relating to the oral argument Trey had given a few weeks prior in Baton Rouge. He explained it would have been a conflict of interest for him to opine on the matter.

"Shit," Trey said later on the way to the airport. "Here I thought it would be a slam-dunk with your father on that panel. Now I have to sweat it out while waiting for the others to decide."

I was glad to be going home. It had been nice spending time with my father and getting to know him. I missed my routine at home. I missed Trey and Gina; I missed Tristan and Jean. The holidays were fast approaching and I needed to prepare for our baby's first Christmas.

After that I needed to prepare for our move into our new home. I leaned my head against Trey on the airplane. Preston was asleep cuddled in his lap.

"I love you Trey."

"I love you too, baby."

"Trey?"

"Yes Tylar?"

"Truthfully what did you feel if anything yesterday when you saw my mother in that casket?"

He looked down into my eyes as I was nestled against him. He looked a bit distraught.

"I was overwhelmed with a feeling of despair," he replied thoughtfully.

"Why despair?" I asked.

"Because part of me was totally in despair at the thought of how tragic her situation was; it saddened me to think of someone close to you having had to suffer through that. The other part of me despaired at the knowledge that it was exactly that same tragedy that had allowed your life to intertwine with mine. I couldn't imagine my life without you. It really tore me up."