Our Life, Our Family

Chapter 19

Three days later Charity stood beside the open grave at Memaw's funeral. Tony stood beside her, an arm around her shoulders and the other holding a sad looking AJ. Gibbs was there, of course, standing on the other side of his daughter. Sherry and the minister were the only other people there.

The minister read a few scriptures and then preached on how Memaw had moved on to a better place and that death was just the beginning of a new and wonderful life. Then he announced that Charity was to give a few words.

Not leaving the spot she was standing, Charity spoke, her voice wavering slightly. "Memaw was the sweetest woman I had ever met. She was a wonderful woman and I will...miss her." Charity then turned her head to the casket that held the old woman. "I love you Memaw. I will never forget you."

The casket was then lowered into the cold earth and each person threw a flower and a hand full of dirt into the open grave. The minister concluded the service and everyone headed back to Memaw's house for dinner.

Charity had of course, insisted on cooking the dinner. To keep her mind busy, Charity had cooked a lavish feast, of which there weren't enough people to eat it. After a special prayer was said by the minister, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll go see who it is." Charity said, getting up. She walked to the door and opened it to find a man in his late fifties and balding, sanding before her in a nice suit. "Hello." She greeted.

"Hello, are you Mrs. DiNozzo?" The man inquired.

"Yes, I am." Charity replied. "And you are?" She asked.

"Forgive me, my dear. My name is Richard Dawes. I was Ms. Gardener's lawyer."

"Oh, how can I help you?" She asked figuring he was here to tell her how much the funeral was going to cost or something along those lines.

Richard reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "This is my office. I'll need you to come by around noon on Thursday." He told her handing the card.

Charity looked at the card and saw the address of the building as well as the lawyer's phone number. "Okay, thank you." She replied confused.

"Alright, well I shall see you then. And I'm sorry for your loss." He then gave her a polite smile and left.

Charity returned to the dining room, placing the card in her pocket.

"Who was it?" Tony asked his wife as she took her place back at the table.

"Nothing important." Charity answered, giving her husband a look that said, I will tell you later.

Everyone dug into the meal. Soon the food was surprisingly all gone, even though Charity had made enough to feed a small army. AJ was getting ready to go through a growth spurt, so naturally he ate quite a bit.

After everything was cleaned up, the group left and headed to their respective homes. That night, Tony and Charity laid in bed after tucking AJ in. Tony looked over at Charity. "So, who was at the door?" He asked.

"Richard Dawes, he was Memaw's lawyer. He told me that he needed me to come by on Thursday." Charity answered, confused.

"You want me to keep an eye on AJ while you go?" Tony asked.

"That would be a good idea." Charity answered.

Before anymore could be said, there was a knock at the door. "Come in." Charity called.

A sleepy AJ walked in, holding his stuffed dinosaur in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. "I had a bad dweam. Can I sweep wiff you?" He asked.

"Of course, baby." Charity answered.

Tony got up from bed and walked over and scooped AJ up in his arms. Then he walked back over to the bed and put AJ down next to Charity. Then he climbed in himself. "Better buddy?" Tony asked his son.

AJ nodded. Somehow being inbetween both his parents made him feel very safe and secure. He leaned over and gave his father a hug. "Night Daddy, I love you."

"I love you, too, buddy." Tony said, returning the hug.

AJ then stretched and kissed his mom on the cheek. "Love you, Mommy."

Charity wrapped her arms around her son and kissed the top of his head. "I love you, too, baby." She replied.

Then AJ leaned his head against Charity's growing belly and hugged it. "I love you, sissy." He said, and then kissed his Mom's stomache.

Though Charity was grieved by the loss of Memaw, she couldn't help but smile. As AJ spoke she could feel her daughter kick and move inside of her. She watched AJ's face as he could feel her move as well.

"What she doin' in there, Mommy?" AJ asked, confused by the movement inside his mom's belly.

"Well, since she can't talk, she has to move when we talk to her. I bet she's saying she loves you, too." Charity answered.

"Oh, okay." AJ replied.

"Now, it's bed time mister." She said.

"Okay."

The family snuggled up under the covers and drifted off to dreamland together.