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He was quiet for a bit as he struggled to walk in his ski boots. “People used to say I looked like my mom.” Charlie’s heart broke for the pain in his voice.
“Did she have pretty blond hair and green eyes like you?” asked Charlie.
He nodded.
“What was she like?”
Jace opened his eyes wide. “You want to talk about her? Nobody ever want
s to talk about her or my dad either.”
“Oh Jace, that’s because they’re afraid they’ll make you sad if they talk about your parents. Does it make you sad to talk about them?”
He shook his head and blinked hard at his watery eyes. “No, I want to talk about them. I’m afraid if I don’t, that... that I’ll forget them.” He sniffed a few times.
“That’s not going to happen. We’ll make sure of it. Do you have pictures?”
He nodded again. “I even have some with me on my phone.”
“Then tonight you can show me your pictures and tell me all about them. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said with a quakey smile. “My mom wanted to take me skiing. She said we were gonna go next year.”
“I bet she’s so happy you get to go now.”
His mouth trembled. “You think she’s still alive? In heaven?”
“I do. Do you?”
His voice dropped. “Sometimes at night, I think I can hear her voice. But when I open my eyes, she’s never there. Do you think I’m crazy? My friend, Davis, says I’m making it up.”
“I believe you.” She leaned down to speak in his ear. “Don’t tell him, but I think your friend, Davis, is crazy. If you were my little boy, and I died, I would absolutely try to talk to you if I got the chance. She loves you. And your dad loves you, too. I bet both of them are excited you’re having so much fun. I bet they want you to be happy.”
“Maybe so. I kind of felt guilty to have fun after they died. It’s like... like it would hurt their feelings if I could be happy without them. But maybe you’re right. Maybe they want me to be happy.”
“I know they do.” While they plodded on in silence Charlie threw occasional glances at Jace. His brows were creased in concentration. Had she said the right things? He’d been through so much pain, and she wanted so badly to fix everything for him.
“Hey Aunt Charlie?”
“Yes, Jace?” She braced herself for his next question.
“Isn’t Charlie a boy’s name?”
She laughed with relief. “I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What?” His eyes danced with excitement.
“My real name is Charlotte.”
“Like Charlotte’s Web?”
“That’s me. But I’m not very girly. I like to do a lot of outdoor things, and I like to compete with guys. So I decided Charlotte was too girly for me.”
“I like Charlie.” He nodded his head in emphasis. “You’re my favorite aunt.”
“And you’re my very favorite nephew. And my only nephew, too!”
Charlie was thrilled Jace caught on quickly during his ski lesson. Unlike most nine-year-olds she’d taught, he never complained about being cold and never whined about anything being too hard. She wondered if it was his personality, or if he was extremely motivated to please her for some reason.
