Part 252 (2/2)

smile, Bri. Yours and Emma's.”

”He was always happy. Whenever I think of him I remember that.”

”My biggest fear was that I would forget somehow, that his face, and his

memory, would fade with time. But it hasn't. I remember how he

laughed, how it would just roll out of him. I've never heard a prettier

sound. I loved him too much, Bri.”

”You can't love too much.”

”Yes, you can.” She fell silent for a time. A cow began to low. Oddly,

the sound made her smile. ”Do you think it's just lost? That

everything he was and might have been just vanished, just went away when

he died?”

”No.” He looked at her then. ”No, I don't.”

His answer made all the difference. ”I did at first. Perhaps that's

why I lost myself for so long. It hurt so much to think that all that

beauty and joy had been here for such a short time. But then I knew

that wasn't true. He's still alive in my heart. And in yours.”

He looked away, toward the distant, shadowed hills. ”There are

times I want to forget. Times I do whatever I can to forget. It's the

worst kind of h.e.l.l to outlive your own child.”

”When you do, you know nothing that happens to you will ever be as

painful. We had him for two years, Bri. That's what I like to

remember. You were a wonderful father.” She reached out for him, took

his hands. When his fingers tightened on hers, she held on. ”I'm sorry

I wouldn't share that pain with you the way I shared the joy. I was

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