Cheating Death ~COMING SOON

Coming soon.

“Tommy, your Mum was just- She was amazing. I still miss her. Tianna was such an incredible person,” I shut my mouth as the tears come.

“Dad? How did Mum die, again?” Tommy asks with some emotion in his voice.

“She-” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Your sister was being born. There were some complications and Mum didn’t make it,” I tell him.

Thomas flickers a glance toward the stairs. Abigail was up in her room. “I thought people didn’t die anymore during childbirth, though. That’s what my history teacher said,” he murmurs. Well, I’m glad he pays attention during class. He wishes Tianna were still here. I do too.

“It’s very rare. Your Mum was just a rare type of person.” I pull Tommy closer to me on the couch. He leans into my side, seeming to need it to stay upright.

“Do you still love Mummy even though she’s gone?” my son asks in a voice thick with tears. He probably doesn’t even remember Tianna at all.

“Yes, I do. But with you and Abby, it is less sad. I’ve still got you two to love,” I hug my own thirteen year old teenager closer to me. We usually don’t do this anymore. He’s too grown up to be seen so close with his father.

“Would Mum love me?” Tommy asks softly. He sounded so hesitant to ask the question.

“Of course. She loved you before she died, and I am one hundred percent sure she would still love you now. She didn’t even get to meet Abby. Your Mum died just before Abby was born. She would still love you both more than she would love herself. Tianna was like that,” I sigh. Now all I can think about is my deceased wife. I miss her so much.

“You’d never told me that Mum never met Ab. Are you sure she didn’t?” Tommy looks up at me.

“Yeah. I’m sure. The doctor told me and-” I take a deep breath. “I saw the flat line on the heart monitor. Your sister wasn’t out by the time I was shoved out of the room. I know she was gone. I was so sad.” I have to stop talking about this. I’m upsetting my son. And myself.

“It’s okay, Dad. You can cry. I understand. Mum died and you miss her a lot. You loved her a lot. You can cry. It will probably help,” Tommy says gently. He is so nice and soothing to me. It is what I have been telling him for years, because it did help Tianna. Now he is saying it back to me.

“Thank you, Tommy,” I hug him before standing and retreating to my room. It is better to not cry in front of him daily.

Tianna died almost twelve years ago. Why can’t I just get over it? Because I love her, that’s why. She took my heart with her to the grave. Even though she told me I should remarry, I can’t.

Ever since I moved out of the flat, I have tried so hard to give Tommy and Abby good lives. They are my everything now. They have gotten used to the frequent visits to their uncles’. I decided I couldn’t let them lose their uncles after getting so close to them and losing their mother already. The kids practically grew up half-living at the flat since we were there in almost every spare moment.

Even now, we go over all the time. Tasha and Harry had moved out of the flat and down the road from us about a year ago. They are on their honeymoon in Paris right now after Harry proposed a month ago. I am sure they are having a great time. They deserve after how supportive they’ve been to us and the community.

The kids walk over all the time and stay there when I’ve got to go out somewhere without them. Sometimes they even go straight there after school. Tianna would probably have been home for them if she were still here. She isn’t though, so that isn’t a legitimate option.

That would be my one wish if I were to be granted one. A happy, healthy Tianna with the kids and I. That’d be amazing. Too bad I can’t actually get a wish.