Georgia On My Mind-Book Four

Chapter 3 - Death Is A Part Of Life

FOUR YEARS LATER...

As I sit at the table doing my homework, the phone rings, and Momma picks it up. I can hear her in the kitchen. "Hello?" she answers. She pauses for a moment before answering, "No! Oh, my God! Dylan!!!!," she cries out. I jump up from the table and run to the kitchen.

When I get there, Momma is sobbing uncontrollably, "Momma?" I ask curiously as I approach her. Just then, I'm startled when Daddy runs up behind me into the kitchen. "What is it?"

Momma has tears streaming down her cheeks, and she shakes her head at Daddy, "Dom just passed away!"

Daddy puts his hands over his face. "No!" he cries.

I can hear Momma talking on the phone. "Where is she?... Should I go over there?...No?...Call me and let me know," she says as she wipes the tears from her eyes before hanging up.

I anxiously look up at Momma and Daddy; they are both sobbing. I slowly approach Momma. "Momma? What happened?" I ask.

She kneels in front of me, "Listen, baby; Uncle Dominic is in heaven now taking care of his and Aunt Maggie's first baby who passed."

Tears start to well in my eyes. "Oh. Why did he die, Momma?"

"Uncle Dominic had cancer. He was extremely sick, his body just gave out, and he couldn't go on anymore. Death is sometimes just a part of life, baby." She explains as she brushes the hair out of my eyes. "Aunt Maggie is going to be incredibly sad for a long time now. Plus, she is having two babies here in a couple of months. We all need to help her out."

"Okay, I will help," I respond. Momma smiles warmly at me with tears streaming down her cheeks before standing. Daddy walks over and wraps his arm around her as she sobs into his shoulder.

I return to the kitchen table and finish doing my homework. I wonder if Uncle Dominic will be an angel who watches over us? I believe he will be; I bet he is flying high up in the clouds with the other angels. I will miss him, but I know their first baby needed someone to look after them. Maybe that is why he died. They needed him in heaven to take care of their other baby.

The rest of the night was quiet, except for Benny, who is always loud. Momma and Daddy never talked to him about Uncle Dominic. Momma was on the phone with Brie for a while that night. She was crying a lot, and I was unsure of what I could do to make her feel better.

Daddy walks over and sits down next to me on the sofa. I was trying to stay out of their way, so I decided to watch Happy Feet to keep myself entertained. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close to him, then he leans down, kisses the top of my head, and brushes the hair from my eyes, "Are you okay, baby?" He asks.

I cuddle up close to him. "Yes, I'm just thinking about Uncle Dominic being an angel flying high up in the clouds with the other angels."

He gently pats my shoulder, "Oh, he sure is. He's probably the one who flies the highest."

The realization that I will never see Uncle Dominic again hits me. "I will miss him," I say tearfully.

Daddy wraps his arms around me tightly. "I will too, baby. We all will." He implies.

After I finish watching Happy Feet, I approach Momma and Daddy to give them goodnight kisses; then, I get myself ready for bed.

I gaze outside my window throughout the night. I'm having trouble falling asleep. I wonder if I should talk to Uncle Dominic. I look up at the ceiling to talk to him. "Hi, Uncle Dominic. It's Georgia. I hope you are happy about being an angel. I hope you are flying high up in the clouds. Tell my Grandma Norma I said hi and I miss her. I promise to help Aunt Maggie with the new babies. If you are ever flying around here, come down and see me. I will miss you. I love you. Goodnight, Uncle Dominic." Then I blow a kiss upwards towards the ceiling.

I notice the wind picks up outside my window as I hear the whistling sound of the wind entering through the cracks around the pane. The branches to the tree outside sway in the breeze; it is very peaceful. After some time, I drift off into a deep sleep.

ONE WEEK LATER...

Uncle Dominic's funeral is today. Momma picks out my black dress with black flats to wear. She fixes my hair and then dresses Benny in his suit. I can tell Momma and Daddy are emotional today.

We load into the Jeep and drive to the funeral home. Once we arrive, Momma leads Benny and me to the front entrance. Daddy separates from us and joins Aunt Maggie and Uncle Dominic's family. Aunt Maggie is sobbing uncontrollably as Daddy is attempting to console her. He escorts them inside the front entrance.

Benny and I walk hand in hand with Momma behind them inside the funeral home. Aunt Maggie, Mamaw, Earl, and Daddy stand with Uncle Dominic's family in the front. Momma leads us to stand in line to see Uncle Dominic in his coffin. I stood in front of his casket, inspecting him closely. He looks as though he is sleeping.

Aunt Maggie continues to sob into Daddy's shoulder as we approach. I feel so sorry for her. I know she loved my Uncle Dominic very much. I'm glad Daddy is holding her. He always makes me feel better when he hugs me.

We quietly walk back to the second row of chairs and sit down with Brie, Uncle Sef, John Luke, Harper, and Rhett. Brie is holding Rhett and rocking him as he coos loudly, slobbering on his hand and rubbing it across his mouth. I direct to my attention to John Luke; luckily, I don't have to sit next to him. I can't deal with the childish behavior today. Momma told me just to ignore him.

He peers over at me with his arms crossed in front of his chest. I roll my eyes at him before looking away and focus my attention on Harper, his little sister. She looks up at me with those icy blue eyes and smiles big. Harper is so adorable. Her black hair falls to her shoulders. She looks like a doll baby in her little black polka dot dress and black sandals.

In an attempt to get our attention, John Luke reaches over, takes Harper's other hand, and places something into it. She opens her hand, and once she sees what it is, she gasps, jumps up, and throws it on the ground. Uncle Sef and Brie glare at her. "What are you doing, Harper?" Brie asks.

"John Luke gave me a worm!" she responds tearfully.

Uncle Sef takes John Luke's hand and leads him into another room. I know he is going to get in trouble. Brie looks over at me and shakes her head, "Those stinky boys." she says. I smile and shrug my shoulders.

I curiously scan the room and notice that there isn't a dry eye in this place. I catch a glimpse of Stacy and Lucy behind us with Josie. I turn and wave at Josie, and she shyly waves back with one hand and holds her Momma's hand with the other. I hear wailing coming from the front of the funeral home. I turn around to find Uncle Dominic's mother crying out and touches his face in the coffin. Uncle Dominic's father attempts to pull her back but is unsuccessful.

Once the funeral is over, we leave for the cemetery. As we arrive, we climb out of the Jeep and follow Momma to where Uncle Dominic will be buried.

Momma leads us around the casket and pulls us close to her. I look up and notice that John Luke is glaring at me from the other side of the casket. Uncle Sef places his hand on John Luke's shoulder and squeezes. Uh oh. That means he must be in trouble, like always. As I study the people's faces in the crowd on the other side of the casket, Harper catches me looking in that direction and waves at me, so I wave back.

Aunt Maggie's cries are starting to get louder. She has a tissue up to her nose, sobbing, as they lower Uncle Dominic into the ground. I am startled when I hear Uncle Dominic's mother cry out and shake her fists to the sky. She speaks another language as she does this. It scares me, so I wrap my arms around Momma's waist tightly and bury my face into her side.

Once it is over, Momma helps us into the Jeep, and Daddy gets in shortly after. Momma and Daddy talk about Aunt Maggie staying with us for a while. They both agree, and Daddy drops us off at the house to pick up Aunt Maggie and bring her back home.

Later, Brie, Uncle Sef, Harper, John Luke, Rhett, Papaw Earl, Stacy, Lucy, and Josie hang out at our house while waiting for Aunt Maggie to show up with Daddy. Once I hear a car door, I run outside to see who it is.

Daddy and Aunt Maggie are riding together in his truck, and Mamaw pulls in behind them. I run towards Aunt Maggie, and Benny follows behind me. She kneels as we approach. I get close and whisper into her ear. "Aunt Maggie, I'm sorry about Uncle Dominic. Momma says he is in heaven with your other baby."

She begins crying even harder and pulls me in for a hug. "You are right, dear." I squeeze her tightly, and we head back inside the house. Momma orders pizza for dinner later that night for everyone, and Daddy brings it back.

After dinner, Harper and I go off and play with Barbie dolls in my room. John Luke comes in to join us but plays by himself. I walk over to him. "Hey John Luke, you wanna play Barbies?"

"No! Barbies are for girls. You never have any good toys, Gigi," He pouts.

I look around my room for more ideas. "You want to play a game with us?"

His eyes light up, and he smiles. "Sure! What game?" he asks curiously.

"Ummm...I have Sorry, Monopoly, Candyland..." I say as I name off all the games that I have that might interest him.

John Luke interrupts me. "How about we play hide and go seek?"

I look down at Harper to see if she's interested. "I like to play hide and go seek." She replies.

"Okay, who's hiding first?" I ask.

"How about you two hide, and I'll find you?" John Luke suggests.

I glance down at her again to see if she is interested, "I'm a good hider." She boasts. I nod my head in agreement.

"I'll count to twenty." John Luke states as he turns around, pressing his face to the wall, and begins counting. Harper and I giggle excitedly and run out of the room.

We split up; she runs into the bathroom, and I run to Momma and Daddy's room. When I get there, I hide in the closet. He will never find me in here. I pull my knees into my chest and wait.

Right after he stops counting, I hear him walk into Momma and Daddy's bedroom. He must have peeked! Why am I not surprised? I try to be super quiet as I look down to see his shadow underneath the door.

I'm startled as he quickly opens the closet door and finds me sitting on the floor. I open my mouth, but he puts his index finger up to his mouth to silence me. He plops down next to me in the closet. "I always have Harper hide first. I know she is in the bathroom. I let her think she's good at hiding." He brags.

"How did you know I was here?" I ask him curiously.

I followed the footsteps on the carpet. I think you both stepped in mud or dog poop." He giggles.

I put my hand over my mouth to keep the laughter from escaping.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks.

I look over at him. "Yeah?"

"I know Dominic was your Uncle. I'm sorry about him dying." He says apologetically.

I pull my legs close to my chest. "Momma says he's in heaven taking care of their other baby."

"Probably so. Don't worry, Gigi, my mom will show him around up there, I'm sure." He says as he playfully elbows me in the arm.

I giggle and elbow him back. "How long are you going to pretend not to find Harper?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"Maybe let her wait a few more minutes," I suggest.

He nods in agreement. "Okay."

We sit there in silence until we hear Harper call out, "Gigi!" John Luke and I both jump up, fumble out of the closet in Momma and Daddy's bedroom, and run into the hall, and there she stands, like a lost little puppy.

"There you are, Harper!" John Luke calls out.

Harper approaches us innocently. "I was in the bathroom. Papaw Earl had to use it. I scared him when I jumped out of the shower curtain." She giggles.

I take her hand and lead her into the living room with John Luke following behind us. As we enter, Benny and Josie have built a massive fort out of building blocks. I start to walk over to admire their work when Benny decides to karate chop it, knocking it over purposely. Josie holds her head in her hands and moans in frustration. The adults in the room are roaring with laughter, watching those two interact with one another.

After a while of socializing, all the guests leave. Aunt Maggie decided to go home with Mamaw and Papaw Earl instead of staying with us. Momma helps Benny, and I get ready for bed.

FOUR MONTHS LATER...

Momma picks Benny and me up from school. "Momma has to help Mamaw at the bakery for Aunt Maggie. Benny, you are going to hang out at Brie and Uncle Seth's house, and Gigi, you are going to Aunt Maggie's house to help with the babies."

"Yay!" I cry out excitedly. Momma looks at me in the rearview mirror and winks.

We drop Benny off first at Brie and Uncle Sef's house, and then Momma drops me off at Aunt Maggie's. I am so excited; I love babies! Everyone knows this! I rush into Aunt Maggie's house to greet her. She embraces me and leads me to the family room, where they lay in their bassinettes.

"Okay, Gigi, go sit down on the sofa. I'll make a bottle, and you can feed one of them." She orders.

I excitedly take a seat on the sofa as she makes the bottle for the baby. She returns from the kitchen and sets it down on the table. Then she retrieves one of the babies from their bassinette and brings her to me. "Here, you can feed Gianna." She suggests as she gently places the baby into my arms. I cradle her head and her bottom as she taught me. Then she reaches over and grabs the bottle, and hands it to me to start.

Gianna sucks on the bottle as she digs her little fingernails into my hand, but I don't mind. I am so happy right now; I'm holding a real baby! I look over at Aunt Maggie, beaming, watching as she holds Abrianna in her arms while feeding her, "They are prettier than any baby doll I have," I say quietly.

She looks up at me and smiles. Her blue eyes sparkle whenever we talk about the babies. I can tell she adores them. She tells me that having the babies is like having a little piece of Uncle Dominic with her always, "They are pretty just like their cousin Georgia." She responds as she gently pats Abrianna's bottom.

After Gianna finishes her bottle, I burp her and change her diaper, just like Aunt Maggie taught me. Then she takes her from me and places her back in her bassinette for a nap.

Momma comes by with Benny to pick me up in the evening. Aunt Maggie pats my shoulder and praises me. "She did fantastic, Ri. She's a natural."

I look up at Aunt Maggie, "Can I come over and help you after school tomorrow?"

Aunt Maggie turns to Momma. "I don't mind; it's up to your Momma."

Momma looks down at me, "Sure, I think that should be fine. Would you like for me to drop her off at the same time?"

Aunt Maggie nods her head. "That works for me. Bye guys. Thank you for everything." We say our goodbyes; then, Momma drives us home.