The Treehouse - Epilogue

"Daddy, look!" Brianna exclaimed, tugging at the bottom of Chris's green polo shirt. She pointed a small index finger at a butterfly, fluttering across the grass in Central Park. Chris crouched down to her level, stroking her just-above-shoulder-length hair. Brianna was a spitting image of Brianne, not counting her nose, which was like Jesse's. She had the same blue eye color, golden hair color, and facial features, right down to the dimples when she smiled.

"That's a butterfly," Chris whispered, hugging Brianna to him.

"Flutterby," she tried to repeat, her finger now to her mouth. Chris wished Brianne could see her daughter, be able to hold her like he could. He had gotten into the habit of calling her Brie, but he couldn't help it. He missed Brianne so much, and Brianna constantly reminded him of her. Chris stood up and took Brianna under the arms, lifting her to carry her to the car so they could go home. Brianna wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding on for dear life.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" she asked. Brianna reached a small hand up to play with Chris's spiky hair, waiting for an answer. Every now and then, this hard question popped up, and Chris never wanted to answer.

"She's waiting for you somewhere," he replied like always. "You'll see her someday, I promise." That day would come sooner than Chris expected.