Remember Forever (Book 9 in Nemi Forever Series)

Chapter 6

Demi

I was in a blissful state of mind for quite a while after Nick surprised me with renewing our wedding vows. No matter what tragedy happened to cause a meltdown from one of our children, I didn't let it get me down. I knew how lucky I was to have the life I had. My husband was the absolute best, even when he got upset with me, which most of the time he had good reason.

About a week after we got back from New York, Mercy had her quarterly doctor's appointment, for her Diabetes, so her & I made a day of it. We went to lunch before her appointment & it gave us time to have girl talk. "So, how is school going? Got a boyfriend yet?" I asked Mercy after we ordered our food.

Mercy rolled her eyes & clicked her tongue. "No, Mommy. Boys are gross. At least to me they are." She shrugged her cute little shoulders.

"Daddy isn't gross." I said, grinning at her.

"I bet if you were my age & you went to school with Daddy, you would think he was gross." She said in a know-it-all tone.

I laughed out loud. "You're probably right."

"Hey Mommy? Do you think we could go horseback riding together soon? You promised me we'd go a while ago & we still haven't gone together."

"You're right. I did say that. We could maybe do it this weekend." I suggested.

Mercy clapped her hands & smiled, lighting up her whole face. She started rambling on, after that, about a boy in her class that likes her & Karleigh, both. I listened & offered my advice. She made me laugh & made me envious at the same time. I wish I had been like her when I was her age. She was so strong & carefree & didn't seem to care what people thought about her. I prayed she got through her childhood without being hurt the way I did.

Mercy's doctor appointment didn't go well. Everything was okay, except her A1C test results. The results was 7.3 percent & that number was alarming to most people with Diabetes. Her doctor, though, set our minds at ease because he wasn't too concerned. He said because of Mercy's episode over the summer that would make the results a little high. Mercy was still upset when we left the doctor's office, so I took a deep breath & checked my watch. When we got to the car, I turned toward Mercy before I unlocked the door. Her sad expression was killing me. "What do you say we go to Griffith Park & ride some horses for a bit before we go home?" I asked Mercy.

She looked up at me with confusion written all over her face. "What?"

"I think we could both use it. You love riding & I used to. You got crappy news, but the doctor said it wasn't anything to worry about since it was just one test. As long as the rest of the tests over the next year are good.... so anyway.... I'm not ready to go home. I want to do something to cheer me up, don't you?"

Mercy's mouth turned up a little, then she smiled, broadly. "Really?"

"Yep. Let's go." I smiled & winked at her, then unlocked the car. We got in & I drove us to the horse rental park. We both chose a horse & went riding throughout the park. We rode for an hour & talked the whole time about anything & everything. She admitted her fear of having another episode or disappointing Nick because she doesn't manage her Diabetes as well as he does. I assured her that Nick didn't always manage his as well as she thinks. I also told her it takes a while to manage such a roller coaster type of illness well, anyway. Even Nick still has some episodes & I had to describe some of them to Mercy. I told her that her dad had been diabetic since he was a kid, so he's gotten a lot better at managing it. She seemed to be relieved with what I told her. I enjoyed our talk so much. Halloween was just around the corner & I had decided to throw a party for the kids & their friends. Mercy & I talked about the party a lot & she had amazing ideas for it. I was probably more excited than she was.