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Icleared out the weeds that had popped up after the snow cleared and stared at my grandfather’s headstone. The words on it felt lacking. Loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was so much more for so many. Especially to me.
I kneeled in front of it and sighed.
“Hey, old man, it’s been a moment,” I said out loud, not bothering to look around or worried about anyone overhearing me talk to my granddad. “You know, you wreak havoc even from six feet under,” I teased. “Sunny showed me the letter you left for her. I don’t know how you knew I would find her the way I did or what you did to set us up, but I know in my gut you had a hand in it.” A breeze picked up, and just then, a white butterfly landed on his headstone.
I blinked and swallowed hard.
I wasn’t faithless enough not to know that those were all signs from him. From the man who helped me kick my life into gear and helped me find my other half.
I looked at the contraption I had strapped onto my chest and the dark-haired baby soundly sleeping.
“His name is Arthur,” I shared softly, not to wake my son sleeping soundly. Art was only four months old, but I was looking forward to adding to our family one day, and soon.
“I’ll tell him all about you. I promise. About how his great-granddad helped me find his mama and helped me find love,” I vowed and stood up.
I touched the headstone, and weirdly enough, that white butterfly stayed where it was and looked at my hand.
“Miss you, old man,” I roughly whispered. “Thank you for looking out for me, for doing whatever you did to help me find Sunny.” I squeezed the cool stone and walked down the hill and toward where my wife was waiting for me outside our car.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” I nodded and kissed her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t share the letter with you sooner.”
“I think you shared it when I needed it, sunshine.” I smiled.
It was a crazy storm of emotions when she handed me the letter this morning.
She’d never told me what had happened in Clerence’s office, and I hadn’t asked. Maybe it was because I had just been ready to start our lives. Or maybe because right after, we headed to the West Ranch’s main house with a surprise BBQ wedding reception my mom, who had thankfully forgiven me, too, had thrown for us. Or maybe because after that, we’d found ourselves in the middle of a field making love under the stars. Or because one thing had happened after another, and before we knew it, life had happened, and we’d had our firstborn.
Whatever the reason was, I knew Sunny. I trusted her. She shared when she thought I was ready for it. Reading his words had reminded me of how much I missed the old man who had been like a best friend to me. He’d taught me a big lesson from the grave and had helped me find the woman of my dreams.
I knew he’d hand it in. I wasn’t a religious man, but I knew somehow, someway, that old, meddlesome, stubborn man had helped me find Sunny from wherever he was watching over us.
Taking a risk on love, finding the courage to open my heart up to someone hadn’t been easy, and I could have lost it all. But as I pulled my baby boy from the holder and settled him into his car seat, I glanced at his mama, who was smiling quietly from the passenger side, and I sure was glad I’d found the balls not to mess it up.
