Post by moonwick on Nov 13, 2006 22:57:26 GMT -5
Jade stepped into Nana’s empty Minneapolis home to take one last look around. She sighed and Lantlas put his arm around her.
“I’m really going to miss this place.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
Emerald, who had tagged along for the afternoon, sat on the carpet and played with a deck of cards. She looked up at them from the floor. “It smells like pretty flowers,” she stated, closing her eyes and inhaling.
“Yes. Nana always smelled that way,” Jade explained with a smile as teardrops made tracks on her face. She turned her head away, trying to hide the sadness from her new family, who always made her so happy. Lantlas gently touched her chin and guided her face back to his, brushing away her tears and kissing her on the forehead. She rested her cheek against his chest, so glad to be in his arms…so glad to be in his life. His heartbeat pulsed beneath his shirt, and she realized that her ears had never experienced a more comforting sound. There was nothing else like it, nothing in the world.
“Can I see your room, Jadey? Please?”
“Sure,” she replied, also wanting to see it again.
They made their way to the door at the end of the hall, the room in which she had lived for two years after her parents died, the room in which she had stayed during every visit. Jade pushed open the door slowly, letting the past wash over her in waves. The room was mostly empty, as all the furniture had been moved out earlier. But there was still a box full of Emily’s things on the floor, waiting to make the long journey back to South Carolina.
“What’s in the box?” Emerald asked, bubbling with curiosity. Lantlas shot his daughter a look, but Jade walked over to it and kneeled beside it, brushing a thin film of dust from the cardboard cover.
“I’m not sure,” she answered truthfully. This box had been hiding in the closet for a long time. The movers must have found it and left it for Emily to take back with her. “Why don’t we find out?” She gave Emerald a little smile before turning her attention back to the box and lifting away the cover.
“Rupert!!!!” she squealed, laughing at a seemingly ancient teddy bear, which she hugged and tossed over to Emerald before digging through the box. She lifted out yearbooks and photo albums as she continued digging deeper. Lantlas began to page through them, smiling at the little girl in the pictures who had now grown up to be his fiancée, seeing her parents’ faces for the very first time.
Jade lifted out a smaller box and sat back on the floor to open it, almost as if she had discovered buried treasure. There were seashells inside from her first trip to the beach, a small packet which contained the first tooth that she lost, and lots of other odds and ends…friendship bracelets, lucky marbles, and notes that had been passed to her in class. But in the bottom of the small box was her mother’s wedding ring. Jade picked it up and looked at it closely for what was really the first time. She immediately began to cry, her hand covering her mouth in surprise. Lantlas and Emerald both looked up to see why.
Emily DuPrae held up her mother’s wedding ring. In the center was a stone of jade.
“I’m really going to miss this place.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
Emerald, who had tagged along for the afternoon, sat on the carpet and played with a deck of cards. She looked up at them from the floor. “It smells like pretty flowers,” she stated, closing her eyes and inhaling.
“Yes. Nana always smelled that way,” Jade explained with a smile as teardrops made tracks on her face. She turned her head away, trying to hide the sadness from her new family, who always made her so happy. Lantlas gently touched her chin and guided her face back to his, brushing away her tears and kissing her on the forehead. She rested her cheek against his chest, so glad to be in his arms…so glad to be in his life. His heartbeat pulsed beneath his shirt, and she realized that her ears had never experienced a more comforting sound. There was nothing else like it, nothing in the world.
“Can I see your room, Jadey? Please?”
“Sure,” she replied, also wanting to see it again.
They made their way to the door at the end of the hall, the room in which she had lived for two years after her parents died, the room in which she had stayed during every visit. Jade pushed open the door slowly, letting the past wash over her in waves. The room was mostly empty, as all the furniture had been moved out earlier. But there was still a box full of Emily’s things on the floor, waiting to make the long journey back to South Carolina.
“What’s in the box?” Emerald asked, bubbling with curiosity. Lantlas shot his daughter a look, but Jade walked over to it and kneeled beside it, brushing a thin film of dust from the cardboard cover.
“I’m not sure,” she answered truthfully. This box had been hiding in the closet for a long time. The movers must have found it and left it for Emily to take back with her. “Why don’t we find out?” She gave Emerald a little smile before turning her attention back to the box and lifting away the cover.
“Rupert!!!!” she squealed, laughing at a seemingly ancient teddy bear, which she hugged and tossed over to Emerald before digging through the box. She lifted out yearbooks and photo albums as she continued digging deeper. Lantlas began to page through them, smiling at the little girl in the pictures who had now grown up to be his fiancée, seeing her parents’ faces for the very first time.
Jade lifted out a smaller box and sat back on the floor to open it, almost as if she had discovered buried treasure. There were seashells inside from her first trip to the beach, a small packet which contained the first tooth that she lost, and lots of other odds and ends…friendship bracelets, lucky marbles, and notes that had been passed to her in class. But in the bottom of the small box was her mother’s wedding ring. Jade picked it up and looked at it closely for what was really the first time. She immediately began to cry, her hand covering her mouth in surprise. Lantlas and Emerald both looked up to see why.
Emily DuPrae held up her mother’s wedding ring. In the center was a stone of jade.