Curtis and Charlotte exited the highway and turned down the main street leading to his sister’s house. As planned, Charlotte had been released from the hospital two days ago, so Curtis had driven over to see Trina that same afternoon and again yesterday. He’d felt bad about leaving Charlotte behind, partly because she was still recovering from her accident and partly because they’d had to report downtown so she could turn herself in. The police had booked her, fingerprinted her, and taken her mug shot, but thankfully Curtis had been able to bond her out right away. She’d already decided to plead guilty, pay the $2,500 fine, and accept the one-year license suspension she knew the judge was going to punish her with. So, needless to say, while she’d accepted her unfortunate fate, she’d been very depressed about it.
But nonetheless, she’d still insisted that Curtis go spend as much time with his sister as possible. There had also been a few moments when Curtis had prayed that Charlotte wouldn’t start drinking again, but so far, she seemed serious about being in recovery, and she and Alicia had already begun researching treatment centers, both in and out of state. Then, even though Charlotte and Dillon had never been very close, he’d come to see her and had brought her a copy of Alcoholics Anonymous, the primary book that was used to help recovering alcoholics. Dillon had also given Charlotte a schedule of local meetings, which he attended at least four times per week.
So, for the most part, all was well with Charlotte, and even though she still had pain and soreness because of her fractured ribs, what she’d discovered was that sleeping in a recliner at night versus lying down in bed was helping her heal a lot faster.
Curtis turned the corner and looked at Charlotte. “Baby, how’s your pain?”
“It’s actually pretty good. Sometimes when you hit a bump it hurts a little, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Still, I wasn’t going to miss coming to see Trina today. So I’ll be fine.”
“I’m really glad you were able to come,” he said, and then looked through his rearview mirror at Curtina. Curtis focused his attention back on the road, but just thinking about those text messages Charlotte had shown him made him cringe all over again. He’d known Curtina was acting too grown and unruly for her own good, but not once had he thought she was having sexual intercourse. To tell the truth, when Charlotte had told him about it, he’d almost wanted to call her a liar, even though he’d known she would never lie about something this serious. She would also never lie on their youngest daughter, and as it had turned out, it was Curtina who had been the one lying every time she opened her mouth. Then, on top of that, she’d been having sex right inside her school and had gotten expelled. His twelve-year-old-daughter. It was still very hard for Curtis to comprehend, but this had all helped make his decision to send her to a Christian boarding school a whole lot easier. Even Charlotte now thought it was the best thing they could do for her, and while Curtina wasn’t happy about going, she also wasn’t dead set against it.
Curtis turned onto the street that his sister and brother-in-law lived on, but as he drove closer to their house, tears rolled down his face. Ever since leaving Trina last night, he’d tried to keep it together, but now harsh reality had hit him. There were cars everywhere, including those that belonged to all three of his adult children. Yesterday morning, Trina had told him that she wanted her family to spend the entire day together, and he was glad everyone had honored her request.
Charlotte touched Curtis’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good. Just having a moment is all.”
Curtis pulled into the driveway and was glad there was still space available, so Charlotte wouldn’t have to walk so far. When they got out, Curtina carried her mom’s purse and Curtis helped her up to the door. Then Curtina rang the doorbell.
Eric opened it and smiled. “Hey, Uncle Curtis, hey, Aunt Charlotte, hey, little cousin.”
They all hugged Eric and went into the family room. Everyone was gathered around Trina’s hospital bed, the one the hospice organization had delivered on Thursday. Trina smiled when she saw them, but it broke Curtis’s heart to see how fatigued she looked and how pale her skin had become.
“You know you shouldn’t have come all this way,” Trina told Charlotte. “You should be home resting and taking care of yourself.”
Curtis noticed how weak and raspy his sister’s voice was. Tomorrow would mark five weeks since they’d first come to see her, and her condition had deteriorated very quickly.
“I’ll be fine,” Charlotte said, stepping closer to the bed and grabbing hold of Trina’s hand, “and I’m so sorry I can’t hug you. But even though you’re sitting up, it still might hurt if I try to lean too far forward.”
“No worries at all. I’m just glad you’re here,” Trina said, looking at Curtis. “Hey, brother.”
“Hey, sis,” he said, hugging her for a few seconds longer than normal.
“So did you get any sleep last night? You left here pretty late.”
“Just a little. But I’m okay.”
Curtis glanced around the room, watching his children, their spouses, his grandson, Porsha, Jason, his niece and nephew, and Jason’s parents, who Curtis had had the pleasure of meeting yesterday. Charlotte was across the room chatting with them now, and they were such wonderful people.
Over the next couple of hours, everyone laughed and talked and ate some of the food that Amber had ordered in from one of the gourmet delis in the area. Curtis had expected Trina to sleep through most of their visit, the way she’d done when he’d come to see her yesterday, but she was wide awake and chatting with anyone who came to her bedside. He especially paid attention to the way she smiled when she was talking to all four of his children and his grandson. Then he saw her beckoning for Denise and telling her something.
“Can I have your attention, everyone?” Denise said.
Everyone got quiet and looked at her.
“Miss Trina wants me to take some photos of the entire family gathered around her bed, so if you’ll all come on over, I’ll take a few of them.”
Everyone made their way over to the bed and got in position, but then Trina said, “Where’s MJ?”
He stuck his head around his dad. “I’m right here, Auntie Trina.”
“Well, can you come here for a minute?”
MJ slid around a couple of other people and stood at the side of the bed. “Yes, Auntie Trina?”
Trina smiled at him, and then asked Jason to let down the rail of the bed. “Come sit with me.”
MJ climbed in next to her, and Trina locked her arm inside his. “I just wanted to have a photo with my only great-nephew. You’re the only great-nephew I have right now, and I’m the only great-aunt you’ll ever have.
MJ looked at her. “Is that because my Paw-Paw doesn’t have any other brothers or sisters except you, and my Nana doesn’t have any brothers or sisters at all?”
“That’s right, so you and I have a very special relationship. We’ll always have one.”
“Even when you’re gone?” MJ wanted to know.
“Even when I’m gone, and you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll be right here,” she said, pointing to his heart.
“Then can I get a photo with just you and me? I mean after your nurse takes the photo of all of us?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Trina told him, and then looked at Curtina. “And I also want to get a separate photo with you, too, sweetie, okay? Because you’re the youngest of my first-generation nieces and nephews.”
Curtina smiled and nodded.
Everyone looked on in tears, and now Curtis wished that MJ and Curtina had gotten a chance to spend some real time with Trina. He wished all of his children had.
“And I certainly need to get a photo with my beautiful niece who’s carrying my precious great-niece or -nephew,” Trina said, smiling.
Curtis wondered what she was talking about, but then Alicia walked closer to her father and held his hand. “Levi and I just found out yesterday, Daddy. And since we knew everyone was coming to see Aunt Trina today, we decided to announce it here. But then, when I told Aunt Trina about it a couple of hours ago, she asked us if she could be the one to tell you. And, of course, Levi and I were so honored and happy about that.”
Curtis hugged his daughter and didn’t want to let her go. Then he hugged his son-in-law, but he still didn’t say anything to either of them. He wanted to, but he was too full inside—both with the sheer joy of knowing that he was having another grandchild and with deep sadness because of what was happening to his sister.
“God knew you would need some happy news today,” Trina told Curtis, “and it just doesn’t get any better than this.”
When each person moved back into photo position, Denise told everyone to smile, and she pressed the camera icon on Trina’s phone multiple times. Next, she took several photos of Trina and MJ by themselves, along with many others with various groups of people.
After another hour passed, Trina summoned each of them all back to her bedside again, and they all assembled closely together.
“I just want you all to know how happy and grateful I am to have all of you here today. It has given me such great joy, and I love you all so very much.”
“We love you, too,” everyone said.
“My illness has been a tough cross to bear, but I also know that it hasn’t been easy for any of you, either. Then, last night, my sweet, beautiful daughter looked at me and said, ‘Mom, why did you have to get sick? Why did you have to get cancer?’ So just in case some of you are wondering the same things, this is what I told her: ‘Look at what Jesus had to go through. All the turmoil, pain, and suffering He had to endure. And while He certainly didn’t deserve it, it was still His destiny.’ So as Christians, we all have to go through something, too. But it will never be as painful as what He experienced. Then my sweet, handsome son asked me why God was taking me at such a young age. He wanted to know why I wasn’t going to live to be seventy the way the Bible says. He was referring to Psalm ninety, verse ten. But my response to him was ‘Even Jesus passed away when He was in his thirties.’ So, what I believe is that right when we’re conceived, God already knows which day will be our last. He knows when we’ve completely fulfilled the purpose He has for each of us. And while I know it’s not easy to accept losing the people we love—because to this day, I still miss my mother more than anything—passing away is still a necessary part of life. It’s the one thing that none of us can bypass. That’s the reason it’s so important to love everyone and to treat others as well as you can. It’s important to enjoy every single day of your life and to enjoy your family and friends as much as possible,” she said, smiling and slowly making eye contact with every single person in the room. “This is the reason I wanted all of you to come here today. This is what I knew would make me happy, and it has. I’ve also gotten a chance to spend hours alone this week with Jason, each of my children, and my mother-in-law and father-in-law, and yesterday I got an opportunity to spend time with just Curtis and me,” she said, smiling and reaching her hand out to him.
Curtis held her hand and sat on the edge of her bed, facing her.
“My dear, dear, brother. You and I went through a lot as children, and regardless of how many years we didn’t see each other or talk to each other, I still loved you. I was angry at you, too, but deep down, you were still my big brother and the only brother I had. You were always in the back of my mind, and I used to wonder if we would ever become close again. And if we did, I wondered how it would happen. I never even told Jason my feelings about that,” she said, looking at her husband, “but I still wondered. And look at the plan God had for us. He brought us back together when I needed you most. He turned something bad into something very good, because you and I are closer now than any sister or brother could ever hope to be. Jason, Amber, and Eric have given me the absolute best years of my life, but you have given me the best last five weeks of my life, and I so thank God for you. It took a long time for us to get here, but better late than never, right?”
Tears flowed down Curtis’s face, and he squeezed Trina’s hand, not wanting to let it go.
“And, even with how happy I am to have had this time with you,” Trina continued, “there’s still one more thing I need for you to do. I need you to go visit Mom and Dad’s grave sites. Remember chapter ten in that book I gave you to read?”
Curtis nodded with tears flowing more heavily.
“Well, doing what that chapter talks about is my last request of you. Do it for you, Curtis. Do it so you can be free.”
“I will,” he said, hugging her. “I promise.”
Trina went on with the rest of what she had to say. “Do it so that you and I can be an example to the world that forgiveness is possible for everyone. Even if a person hasn’t spoken to their brother or sister for decades. Even if their father abused them and their mother didn’t protect them. There’s still an opportunity to forgive, live a good life, and be at peace when your time on earth is over. And that’s what I want for you, my dear brother. More than anything. That’s what I want for all of you,” she said, scanning the room again as everyone hugged the person next to them. “I just want my family to be happy and at peace like me. Because when it’s all said and done, love, happiness, and peace are the only things that truly matter.”
Curtis held his sister, and then after everyone else hugged and kissed her again, she closed her eyes…and twenty minutes later, she was gone and finally resting in heaven.