June 22, 2010

My Dearest Jewels,

Today you turn forty. An age that most women dread, but you always looked at aging as an opportunity to gain wisdom and adventure.  Our daughter, our beautiful daughter is turning sixteen today. We have a teenage daughter that is eligible to drive now.  How did that happen?

Xoxo - J

Courtney's hands grazed the words, feeling the indentation of his words on the cream colored paper.

Spring, 8 months prior.

Beautiful spring flowers filled the table in the den where Courtney was curled up in her favorite chair watching the sun set over the city of Angels. This was a rare scene for her and she was taking in every moment of it. Growing up as a child in Los Angeles was the best thing you could have asked for, now in her teenage years, she lived in a much smaller town, outside of a town. She enjoyed living near her grandmother in Millington but she missed the big city lights and smell of the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Seeing her father in the reflection of the glass, standing in the doorway watching her made her uncomfortable. She turned slightly and asked, "Something wrong?"

Justin nodded his head letting her know that everything was fine. He slowly walked close to her before his hands wrapped around hers, sitting across from her, he exhaled deeply. "I wanted you to be the first to know..."

Her entire body tightened up, her palms instantly covered in sweat; a lump started in her stomach and worked its way up through her thought as she swallowed hard. She could only remember one other time in her life that she felt this way. She felt the anxiety of that moment all over again, the emotional waterfall that was about to begin. She thought the worst was upon her once again. Somehow she was about to lose yet another parent and have to find her way in this big world all alone.

"I asked Valarie to marry me." His face beamed with happiness.

Her face wasn't so convincing. Her normally tan complexion was a shade of pale pink, her chocolate brown colored eyes were filled with tears.

"Court..." Justin's smile turned into worry, "I thought..."

Courtney let go of her father's hand and stood from the chair, covering her face with her hands, she turned back and looked at her father once more. He was doing the unthinkable; just shy of two years to the day she lost the one person that mattered the most to her, her best friend, her mother.