Time; Don't Let It Slip Away

But I Thought That I'd See You Again

I blindly reached for my phone, refusing to untangle myself from Steven's warm arms, or tear my gaze from his stunning chocolate eyes. 

"Hello?" I asked, watching his eyes dance with wonder. 

"Mia…" My father answered, sounding both utterly melancholy and relieved. 

"Hey daddy." I smiled, leaning forward and resting my head in the crook of Steven's neck. "I miss you… What's going on?"

"Mia, I have some bad news." He deadpanned. 

He'll only be very blunt when something absolutely grave has happened. 

"Dad…?" I asked, expecting him to just come out with whatever heartwrenching story he was going to tell me. 

"Mia, Grandma Suzie passed away, yesterday." 

"W-what?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. 

The woman who has helped support me my entire life. The one who bought me my first acoustic. The one who sat at the front row of every American Idol show, cheering me on. 

The one who sat in the front row of my wedding. 

My woman. My world. My rock. 

Gone. 

This couldn't be happening. 

What made it even more particularly gut wrenching is that I was just on the phone with her two days ago, promising her that I'd see her soon. 

This must've been harder on my father.

Not only was Grammy my rock and my support, but she was that and so much more for her son; my father. 

I knew his heart was just as broken as mine was, and that made it so much harder to offer comforting words. 

"I'm sorry, baby." He sobbed into the receiver. "The cancer got the best of her. She went peacefully, in her sleep. She's with Grandpa, in heaven, now. She's happy. She's not sick anymore."

Think of the most devoutly religious woman possible, and that's my perfect grandmother. She loves Jesus almost as much, if not more than, she loved her husband. She always said, after Grandpa died that Jesus was the reason for her strength, and that he just had to help through one more day, until she could see him again. 

She prayed devoutly every day that God would just get rid of her cancer. The doctors finally convinced her to go for the chemotherapy after months of explaining that as much as faith and prayers help, she would die with out the treatments. 

"I know…" I sighed, as tears began to flow down my cheeks, staining Steven's t-shirt. "When should I be home?"

"Well… Today's Tuesday…" He paused, trying to collect himself. "We're having the funeral on Friday. That should give the family enough time to gather."

"Okay… I have a show tonight." I stopped myself, realizing how selfish I was being. "I'll cancel it, and be there in a few hours, okay?" 

This caused Steven to shift me in his arms, so he could look at me quizzically. 

The moment he realized I was sobbing, he pulled me back into his chest and smoothed my hair down, whispering soft words. 

"Honey, only do that if you feel that you can't make it through tonight's show. Otherwise, just come up here tomorrow." I could tell he was smiling, even though his words seemed sad. 

"Okay…" I smiled, wiping the constant stream of tears that were staining my cheeks. "I love you, daddy." 

"I love you too, mama Mia."