“Okay, let’s go, Sweetie Pie.”
Once they reached the ticket booth, Matt was standing with tickets in hand, so he must have expected them to show. The children ran up asking how he got there so fast.
“I know a shortcut.”
“Show me,” Lisa said.
“Maybe later.”
The man seemed jovial as they entered the lobby. Together, they went to the counter and ordered candy and drinks. Once they were seated, Danny and Lisa jumped up and decided to sit higher, but the adults stayed put. Although Matt had little interest in the movie choice, he was sitting as if he did. As Abigail tried to focus on the screen, her thoughts were flooded with the events of the past few days. Desperately, she wanted her sister to come out of her coma and come home. The more she tried to push those gloomy thoughts aside, the more they reentered her consciousness. As a Christian, she shouldn’t have worried, so she decided to pray:
Let Alisa recover and come home. Please comfort David’s family, and help the FBI find the murderer.
After, Matt patted her hand, then he whispered, “In time, everything will be okay. You’ll see.” His words came at the close of her prayer, as if God Himself was reassuring her through him. Once again, he comforted without intrusion. She genuinely liked the man, even in spite of how they met. For a thief, he had some wonderful qualities.
I could easily fall for this guy.
When he nudged her, he asked, “Need to talk?”
“No. I’m okay.”
“If you change your mind, remember, Lisa has my card.”
“By the way, Matt, I didn’t appreciate you giving it to her.
“Does that mean you’ll call me later?”
She pushed his shoulder. “Don’t you wish?”
After grinning, he said, “Actually, yes I do.”
Soon the children returned, saying they didn’t like their seats. After the movie ended, they walked out of the theater. Lisa said, “Don’t forget, you said you would show me your shortcut.”
He pointed down the walkway. “I parked over there. It’s closer to the theater.”
“That doesn’t look shorter to me.”
After laughing, he said, “It is, if you drive fast.”
Lisa pushed his leg. “Oh, you.”
Abigail noticed Danny’s mood change, “Are you okay? You seem quiet.”
“Can we go now? I want to call Mom again.”
“Of course we can.” She gave a tender smile and placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be the first thing we do, okay?”
When she reached for Matt to say goodbye, he wrapped his arms around her and gave a warm hug. After she pulled away, he bent to give Lisa a hug and she returned it while saying, “Thank you.”
After approaching Danny, he said, “Young man, take good care of your sister and aunt, okay?”
The boy’s face was somber, but he still had a hug to give and said, “Today was fun.”
After saying goodbye, they turned toward the stairs leading to the lower parking. Abigail was concerned about Danny and hoped he was not depressed. During the drive, the children promptly fell asleep. As they dozed, she wondered,
How can Matt detach so quickly, knowing we’ll never meet again.
She wasn’t so eager to let him go. They both shared the horror of finding her friends’ bodies, and she genuinely liked him. He did seem to be fond of the kids and her.
Once home, she was grateful. Although she enjoyed their outing, she needed a mental break. But first, she needed to empty the trunk and get the children settled. While the trunk was open, Danny reached for the leftovers from lunch and the ice chest. Lisa held out her arms while Abigail gave her the towels and blankets. After she got her keys out, she opened the door, and they dropped everything in the foyer.
As she entered the living room, she saw the message light blinking and quickly checked the messages. Steven called and said the funeral arrangements were made for David. Also, he said that Alisa would soon be transferred to San Diego.
As the children listened to Steven’s message, they became quiet. Suddenly, Lisa was inconsolable as tears rolled down her cheeks. So, Abigail knelt and wrapped her arms around her, allowing her to sob.
When Abigail saw that the boy was holding back his tears, she said, “It’s okay to cry, Danny.” After saying that, something broke in him, and he ran into his bedroom, bawling.
Between sobs, Lisa asked, “Can I see Daddy? I want to see him again.”
“Sure, Honey.”
“When?” she demanded.
“Soon. I promise.”
“I don’t want him dead; I want him alive.”
“I know, Honey. We all do.”
“God can bring him back. He did it before you know. He can make Daddy alive again.”
“Is that what you want? For God to bring your daddy back to life?”
“Yes,” she yelled. “Let’s pray for that, okay?”
So, Abigail prayed, “Dear God. You heard Lisa. She wants her daddy. Will you please bring him back to life? Lisa needs him. We put his life into your hands, but Your will be done, not ours.”
“Why did you say that?”
“What?”
“About His will, that means if God doesn’t want my daddy to be alive again, then it’s okay.”
“There’s a reason we pray like that. God knows everything and knows what is best. Your daddy might be happy being in heaven, he might have a special job like watching over you and Danny. Maybe, he can do it better while in heaven. We don’t know everything, but God does. So, if He thinks it is best for your daddy to stay with Him, we must accept that, Sweetie. But, remember, Lisa, when you are old and go to heaven, you will see him again. Then God and your dad can explain things to you better. Can you accept that?”
“Yes, but I don’t like it -- I want my daddy here.”
“Honey, I try to trust God with everything. I hope you can learn, too. Do you want to trust God?”
“Sure, if he brings Daddy back.”
“But, that isn’t trusting.”
After being silent, something changed within her, as if some inner enlightenment took place. “I want to trust God, even for my daddy.”
“Good. Let’s thank Him for hearing us and answering our prayer.” When she finished, Lisa said, “Amen.”
“Now, go wash up, I need to check on Danny.”
As the child walked away, her head was held high, and she was singing a song from Sunday school.
Quickly, Abigail went to see Danny. When she reached his room, she slowly opened the door, peeked in and saw him kneeling by his bed, while crying and praying at the same time. She was grateful that he knew what to do, so she tiptoed away, so as not to disturb him.
After entering the kitchen, she placed a pot of water on the stovetop and selected her favorite teabag. While waiting for it to boil, she vowed,
Once those kids are asleep, I’m going to open up to God and be as honest and real as they have been.
Now that everything had settled down, she then decided to call Steven. When he answered, she asked, “Do you have the date and time for the viewing and funeral?” Without waiting for his response, she asked, “When’s Alisa scheduled to come home?” Then, she asked, “Is Mother home yet?”
“Hey, Sis, what’s going on? You’re asking me questions without waiting for my answer -- that’s not like you.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m too exhausted to listen to the answers. Steven, it’s so hard for me to watch Danny and Lisa deal with adult issues. I hate to see them suffer. But, I’ll tell you, they’re handling things better than most adults would be.”
“Good for them. I’m glad. They need to grieve. But, how are you doing? I’m sorry I’m not more helpful.”
“You are, believe me. I’m grateful you’re handling the arrangements to get our sister home. That’s significant. It’ll be good for the children to see and feel her, even if she can’t speak. Who knows, they might give her the will to pull through her coma.”
When Abigail phoned her sister’s hospital room, her mother answered. After speaking to her for a few minutes, she asked her to place the phone to Alisa’s ear. “We all miss you terribly, Sis. We hope you come home soon. Many people are praying for your recovery. I love you. Now, your son wants to talk with you.”
After giving the boy the telephone, he said, “Hi, Mommy. This is Danny. How are you? I know you can’t tell me because you’re resting. Guess what? We went to a movie. I wish you were home, because then you could go, too. I love you and miss you. Bye, Mommy.” He then handed his sister the handset.
“Hi, Mommy, I miss you sooo much. I want you to get better real soon. When you get home, I can give you a big hug. I love you, Mommy. Bye.”
After Lisa handed the phone to her aunt, Abigail said, “Goodbye, Sis, we’ll see you soon. We love you so much.”
After the phone call, Abigail beamed at the children. “I’m sure she was so pleased to hear your voices.” But, while she spoke, Danny’s head and eyes were down. Abigail asked Danny, “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t know what to say.”
“What you did say was perfect.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
After sitting on the couch for a while, Abigail stood and headed for the kitchen. She heated her water and selected a tea bag. “I have herbal tea, do you want some?”
Lisa walked in and asked, “What kind?”
“Lemon’s my favorite, try it.”
After nodding, she waited while sitting on a kitchen chair.
While making the tea, Abigail wondered if the FBI had arrested anyone, yet. Perhaps, Brent or Robert would know. She decided to check with them, but, for tonight, she and the children would stay home and get mentally prepared for their father’s funeral.
After having tea with Lisa, she called Ruth, David’s mother, and asked if anyone wrote an obituary.
“Yes, I did, Honey. It was sent to the San Diego Union Tribune. You and the children were mentioned, hope you don’t mind.”
“Is there anything I can do for any of you?”
“Yes. Please keep us in prayer.”
“We have and will continue to do so.”
After their conversation, she sat down with the children and explained what to expect at their father’s viewing, service and burial. Danny and Lisa had many questions, and she answered them as well as she could.
Within a few minutes, Carry phoned. “Hi, girlfriend, how are you holding up?”
“Not great, but okay.”
“Can I help in any way?”
“No. Not really.”
“I’m willing to do anything you ask.”
“Well, that’s tempting -- anything, huh?” The women laughed.
“There’s one thing bothering me. Marcella and Diana have called several times, but I’m not ready to talk. Will you give them a phone call? Let them know what’s going on. Tell them I’m with the children, and they need my full attention.”
“Sure, anyone else?”
“Yes, there is, but you can just send emails. I’ll forward you their addresses. They’ll just need an update.”
“No problem, I can do that.”
“Tell them we need their prayers, okay?”
“Sure.”
“After the kids are asleep, I’ll call and tell you about my unbelievable day.”
“Now, I’m curious, do I have to wait?
“Yes.”
“You’re mean.”
“We’ll talk later.”
While warming some tomato soup for dinner, Abigail pulled out bread from the freezer and took out cheese from the cold-cut bin for grilled cheese sandwiches. Danny and Lisa came into the kitchen to check things out.
“Smells yummy,” Lisa said. “Can I help? Mommy showed me how to turn them.”
After placing a step stool in front of the frying pan, she gave the girl the spatula, then handed Danny three plates and silverware and asked him to set the table.
When he returned, he said, “Where are the napkins? Mommy puts them on the table.” Abigail grinned and pointed. He grabbed them, folded each and placed them next to each plate. Once the food was prepared, they sat down at the table, said grace and eagerly devoured the food.
“Can Mommy hear us?” asked Danny.
“Some patients have reported that they remember what people said. But, in any case, I know, for sure, it was good for your mother to hear your voices.”
With a worried face, Lisa said, “I didn’t know what to say.”
“You did just fine, Sweetie Pie,” they both smiled. “But, if you want, you can write down what you want to say next time and read it to her. Tonight, I’ll help you do that.”
The girl smiled. “Okay.”
After dinner, Danny jumped up. “I know what I forgot to tell her—about our yacht trip!”
While putting plates in the dishwasher, the children asked for some paper. Lisa wanted to tell her mother about going on the yacht and their lunch with Matt. Danny wanted to talk about finding the Fabergé egg and riding home with the Coast Guard.
After cringing, she said, “Your mom might be worried if you tell her certain things. She might have questions and feel frustrated she can’t talk. So, we don’t want her to worry, do we? You can tell her you had lunch at the Harbor House and watched the mime. She might like hearing about those things. Then, when she gets home, you can tell her about the other things, like finding the Fabergé egg, your ride home with the Coast Guard or being questioned by the FBI.” To lighten up the conversation, she said, “Who wants ice cream and cookies?”
Danny said, “I’ll get the ice cream and bowls, Lisa can put the spoons on the table. We like to help.”
After eating their treat, they wrote their lists of what to say and placed them next to the phone. While playing games, Abigail observed that they were sleepy, so she ordered them to bed, and neither child resisted. Once sleeping, she found her sleepwear and called her friend.
When Carry heard Abigail’s voice, she said, “I found Marcella’s and Diana’s phone numbers. It’s a good thing you had me call. They were worried sick about you. Of course, they want to be of help in any way. Marcella said her church has you on their prayer line, for David’s and your families. They were genuinely appreciative of being updated.”
“Good. Thanks for doing that, it lightens me up.”
“So, tell me about your day. I can’t wait to hear this.”
“Well, we started our day by going to the harbor to check out that touring-vessel company, the one I almost signaled for help. Remember? Anyway, we ran into Brent and Robert from our yacht ordeal.”