The Long Roll Home
Page 16
When the service was over, Cassie, Lillie, Steve, Andy and the six kids each took a handful of dirt and dropped it into the grave. They then turned and headed into the house while several of the men filled in the hole. Cassie and Andy could see that their kids were upset, and they pulled them into a group hug. “I know this reminds you of your mom.” Cassie said, and the three kids tearfully nodded. “What if we put a headstone for your mom right next to my mom’s? That way, you’d have a place you could go when you wanted to talk to her. I’m sure she and my mom are already friends in heaven.” The three children all smiled. “We would like that.” Benjy said. “Will it have her name and all on it?”
“Of course,” Andy answered.
“Good. There’s something else.” Benjy said, looking very solemn. “We kids talked about it, and we would like to start calling you Mom and Dad. We won’t ever forget our first mother, but we love you two and want you to be our real parents.”
Cassie looked at Andy and with tears in her eyes choked out a response. “I can think of nothing that would make us happier than for us to be a real family and be your Mom and Dad.”
“Good,” said Lizzie. “Now when are you two gonna get married and make an honest family out of us?”
Everyone, including Lilly and Steve who were eavesdropping on the conversation began to laugh. Cassie looked at Andy and said, “I’m ready when you are.” Andy leaned over and kissed her gently.
“Somebody better go find Father Gus!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana E. Anderson
Diana was born and raised in New York. She majored in foreign languages in college and after graduation, joined the army as an interrogator/ translator with language specialties of Chinese Mandarin and German. After completing military service, she went back to college and obtained her degree as a Registered Nurse. Almost four decades later, Diana has held a number of staff and leadership positions in nursing and is currently an Infection Preventionist for a rural health care system. She also served as a nurse in both the North Carolina and Texas State Guard. She went back to college several times throughout the course of her nursing career, eventually earning a doctorate degree in health administration. She lives with her husband and two very spoiled cats names Boris and Natasha. In addition to writing, Diana enjoys reading, genealogy, and shooting.