Never Judge a Book By Its Cover
Epilogue
I sat in my rocking chair with two of my grandchildren, Blessing and James Jr., on my lap as I rocked back and forth. Thomas and Dennis sat on the ground near my feet as I told the story. A few light tears trickled down my face as I thought about the day Hayley was born, and the days leading up to it. Since, she'd given me a grandson, Thomas, and a granddaughter, Blessing. James had also given me two grandchildren; James Jr., and Dennis. James was now 30 and married to a gorgeous close friend of the family, Evelyn Carter- Nick's eldest. Hayley was 26 and also married. Dr. David Oliver was his name.
"Gramma? What happened to granpa?" asked 3-year-old Thomas. He was named after Brian. I looked over at Hayley and saw her face go pale. Out of the three of us, Hayley had taken the death of Brian the worst.
"He had some complications with his health and he..." I wiped away a few tears that fell from my eyes as I saw Hayley begin to cry and James choke back his tears. It was nearly ten years ago now and still none of us could talk about it without having an emotional breakdown. Dennis wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. It pained me to know that Brian had never met his wonderful grandchildren. They were so understanding at such a young age...just like Brian.
"Gramma? What's wrong?" asked Thomas looking up at me with sadness in his eyes. "What happened to granpa?"
"Sweetheart, it's very hard for grandma to talk about," said Hayley wiping at her eyes.
"Momma, don't cry," said Blessing climbing off her seat on my lap and onto Hayley's. She wrapped her little arms around her neck and hugged her. I looked over at James and saw him staring out into the front yard, a blank expression on his face. It was hard for any of us to talk about.
"Tommy, you're grandpa passed away about 7 years before you were born...when your mommy was only 16 years old."
"Why?" asked James Jr., looking up at me. They asked a lot of questions about their grandfather, and no matter how much it pained me to talk about him, I pushed myself to answer their questions. I wanted them to know everything they could about him.
"I've told you darling. He was sick and he passed away in his sleep," I said, putting my arm around him.
"Is granpa in heaven?" Dennis asked.
"Yes, grandpa is in heaven. He's watching down on all of us. He makes sure we're okay. He's with us right now, I'll bet," I said as Dennis climbed onto my lap, taking the seat that Blessing had once occupied.
"How do you know if he's here? Can you see him?"
"I just know. When you get older, you'll know how to tell when he's around. He's always with us."
"Even when we're not at your house?" asked Blessing. I smiled at her and nodded.
"Even when we're sleeping?" asked James Jr. I nodded my head again.
"What's heaven like?" asked Thomas.
"Well, it's a very happy place. No bad things ever happen there. The people there are never..." I paused, having to sniffle back my tears, "they're never in pain...they never suffer in anyway." Hayley handed Blessing to James and excused herself to the bathroom. I knew all this talk about her father was upsetting her more and more. "I know all four of you are very young right now, but there's something that you need to learn now, that I wish someone would have told me when I was young. There are things that are going to happen in your life that you're not going to be able to control. Things that you pray day and night to go away. But remember, no matter how bad it gets or how hopeless it seems, just remember that when you think you've hit rock bottom, there's only one place to go and that's up." Hayley came back in the room and sat back down next to me. I glanced over and smiled softly at her. "You have to keep up the faith that something good comes out of every experience. There's always a silver lining to every rain cloud. My silver lining was your grandfather.
When you're older, you'll find it's easy to set barriers between yourself and other people. Never do that. It does no good. It just brings more unwanted hate into this world. Every person on this earth deserves at least a chance. Never deprive them of that chance, and never, ever judge a book by its cover."
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