Part 7
Kevin walked with his daughter to the fresh grave and watched as the little girl went to the headstone. She gently placed the flowers against the granite and sat down.
"Mama, I hope God has finished fixing all your boo boos and you feel better."
Kevin took a seat on the ground behind his daughter and reached around to adjust the flowers. "I bet she's feeling much better now, Tay. God can touch you and you're healed."
"What do you think she's doing, Daddy?"
Kevin closed his eyes. The innocence of childhood was so amazing. "If I know your mother, she is probably dancing."
"She taught me how to dance like you and Uncle Howie."
"What did she teach you, sweetheart?"
Taylor got up and moved off to the side and proceeded to show Kevin what she'd learned.
Kevin laughed, the first genuine laugh he'd had since this nightmare had started. "That was really good, Tay," he praised as the little girl rushed to hug her father.
"I like it when you laugh, Daddy. Your eyes look so happy," she said as she put her tiny hands on his cheeks.
Taking her hands in his, he kissed the tiny palms as he said, "It feels good to laugh…but I miss your mother a great deal and I haven't felt much like laughing lately."
Taylor moved to sit in Kevin's lap and took his hands to play with them…something Tyler used to do. After several minutes, she asked, "Daddy, why can't Mama stay when she comes to rub my back?"
Kevin felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "When did your mama rub your back, Tay?"
"Last night. She sat beside me on the bed and rubbed my back as she sang to me."
"Did she talk to you too?"
"Just sang."
Kevin felt his tears threatening to fall. "I guess because God needs her to come back and take care of other little girls whose mamas can't do that for them."
That seemed to satisfy the little girl and she went back to playing with his hands but she began to sing. Kevin listened and realized it was a song he'd always sung to Tyler to soother her when she would get upset. He knew Tyler never used it to calm the children because it was special to her.
"Tay, where did you hear that song?"
"Mama sang it to me last night while she rubbed my back," said the child matter-of-factly.
Kevin closed his eyes against his tears.
"Has she ever sung it to you?"
"No, baby. I used to sing it to her when she was upset," he said softly.
Taylor was seeing Tyler at night. It was a child's faith that allowed her to see her mother. Why did people lose that faith when they grew up?
"Daddy, can I go to the chapel?"
"Sure, baby. Go on."
"Come with me, Daddy," she pleaded as she stood and pulled his hand.
Kevin stood up and allowed his daughter to pull him to the chapel. He stood at the back as she danced in the rays of sunlight that came through the stained glass windows.
"Kevin, this is so beautiful!" sang Tyler as she danced around the chapel.
Kevin simply watched her, smiling. She was so beautiful and her eyes danced with happiness.
She moved to him and took his hands in hers, forcing him to dance with her as she asked, "Can we get married here?"
"We can get married anywhere you want, 'Tadpole', but we aren't going to be able to invite very many people to the ceremony. It's not big enough."
"Family only then for the ceremony and we'll have a huge reception. We can put candles all through the chapel for light and do it at sunset."
"Whatever you want, Tadpole."
A tug at his hand brought Kevin out of his daydream. Looking down at her, he saw that her eyes were huge.
"Look, Daddy, look," she said excitedly pointing towards the altar.
"What is it, Tay?"
"It's Mama and she's dancing with Grandpa…like she used to dance with you."
Kevin looked in the direction Taylor was pointing but he saw nothing. Closing his eyes, he prayed, 'God, please let me see what Tay sees'. When he opened his eyes, there was nothing.
"Tell me what you're seeing, Tay."
"It's Mama and Grandpa and their dancing. Mama is wearing the dress she has on in the picture by your bed and Grandpa is wearing a suit. They're laughing and smiling."
The dress Taylor was talking about was Tyler's wedding gown and his tears fell. He ached to be able to see what Taylor was seeing, to see Tyler's smile, to hear her laughter, to hold her in his arms again and dance the way they used to dance.
A little voice said, "Don't be sad, Daddy. Mama is happy."
"I hope so, Tay," whispered Kevin as he sat down to take Taylor in his arms hugging her tight.
