Cleats and Tiaras

Prologue Part 2

When Charlie woke her grandpa was sitting beside her bed with his head in his hands. Charlie saw the sobs that wracked his body. She reached out to him, but her small arms were too short.

“Grandpa, I'm okay. I just got sleepy.” she said, trying to comfort him. His head shot up and he made eye contact with his granddaughter. Charles stood from his seat and pulled Charlie in for a hug. He crushed her to him as if he could merge them into one being.

“Oh, my sweet girl. I am so happy to hear your voice.” He said.

“I can’t breathe.” Charlie gasped out. Charles loosened his hold on her but didn’t release her from his embrace.

“Where’s Mommy?” the young girl asked. Charles tried and failed to reign in his sobs. He backed away from Charlie to move his seat closer to her bed and sat down. Charles took her small hands in his as he began to speak.

“Do you remember the car getting hit?”

“Yeah, it scared me. Mommy wouldn’t wake up even though I yelled. There was bunches of smoke. A man broke the window on the other side of the car and asked if I was okay. I told him yeah but mommy was asleep and wouldn’t wake up. I heard someone yell fire and the man said a bad word when he looked at the front of mommy’s car. Then he tried to open the door but it didn’t work. He yelled it was stuck and he needed help. More men came and they pulled really hard til the door opened. It made a really bad noise. He told me to undo the belt and get out of the car so I did. A woman came up and pulled me away from the car. I tried to stop her but she said the fire could hurt me and I needed to stay away from it. I heard another bad noise and looked at the car. The men were carrying mommy out and over to where I was. Someone put a blanket on the road and they laid mommy on it. I tried to wake her up again but they stopped me. Then the big white trucks with sirens came and they put mommy on a table with wheels. They put her in one of them and it drove away. I screamed at them not to take mommy. Then they said they would take me where they took mommy but I had to get on one of the rolly tables too. They put straps on me and stuck a needle in my arm. Then they poked my finger with something and made it bleed and put it on paper. They put the paper in a phone. Then they brought me here and I met Doctor Willims. He put a cold thing on my back and front to hear my heart. Then he gave me medicine to make me feel better. The medicine made my mouth taste funny so they said they would get me apple juice but I fell asleep before I got any.” Charlie said.

Charles took a deep breath to steady himself.

“You know how your daddy died and went to heaven before you were born?” He asked her. Charlie nodded.

“Well, your mommy was hurt when the car got hit..” Charles said. He took a breath to try and stave off the sobs that threatened to break free.

“It hurt mommy's heart. The doctors tried to fix it but they couldn’t. Your mommy went up to heaven with daddy.” Charles’ throat felt as if it were closing as he explained to his granddaughter that her mother had died.

“NO! They said the doctor was taking good care of mommy!” Charlie screamed. Her grandfather began to cry harder.

“They tried sweetpea. They did everything that they could for mommy, but God called mommy home to heaven.

“NO! NO! WHERE IS MOMMY? I WANT MOMMY!” Charlie shrieked as she began to cry. Charles hugged her to him as he tried to comfort her, while both of their worlds shattered.

Charlie sat next to her grandfather in front of the casket. She had cried and cried until no more tears would come out. The black coffin with the closed lid taunted the five year-old with the knowledge that her mommy was in there and would never come out. Charles had decided on a closed casket because of the contusions and lacerations on Sarah’s face. He didn’t want his granddaughter to remember that as her last glimpse of her mother. Charlie grabbed her grandfather’s hand and looked up at him with her brown eyes full of sorrow.

“Grandpa, can I go watch the pictures again?” she asked him. Charles nodded. The pair stood from their seats and walked to the back of the room. They sat in front of the monitor that was displaying a slideshow of pictures from Sarah’s life. Charlie watched the pictures blink on and off the screen one by one. Her mother and father getting married, Sarah holding Charlie the day she was born, Her mother in a pretty blue dress with her father, Aunt Maddie and her mom by a pool, a big picture of Sarah, Charlie, Charles, Maddie, Joey, and Joey’s dad Calvin, all displayed on the screen for people to see. There were so many pictures of Sarah and Charlie in the slide show. Charlie stared at them, wishing that she could hug her mommy again.

“Charles, Charlie, I am so sorry for what you’re both going through.” Maddie said as she and Joey approached them. Charles hugged Maddie and Joey. Then Maddie hugged Charlie close to her.

“My sweet girl, I am here for you always okay? Your mom was the best person I have ever known and I will always be here to look out for you.” Maddie said. She released Charlie from her embrace. As soon as she was free Charlie threw herself into Joey’s arms. He hugged his best friend close to him. The five year-old boy couldn’t understand the pain that his friend was going through. He couldn’t imagine a world without his mother. Charlie began to cry again and Joey cried with her. The two children didn’t let go of one another from that moment on. They were always joined in some way, even if it was just holding hands.

“Joey.” Charlie choked out his name. The boy turned to face her. Charlie’s face was red and puffy. The streaks from her tears were still visible on her cheeks.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Don’t leave me to go to heaven. Everyone is leaving me to go to heaven. First daddy went before he even knew about me and now mommy went to heaven. Please say you won’t leave me too.” Charlie pleaded with him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes once more.

“I will never leave you. You are my best friend. I promise I won’t go to heaven without you.” Joey reassured her. Even though neither child fully understood death, or what it meant to go to heaven, they both knew that they didn’t want to be somewhere that the other wasn’t.