badnews { jace norman }

epilogue

"come on sweetie" i squeeze the hand of my four year old.

her blonde curls rush past her as her small body runs to catch up with us.

"can we get ice cream after lunch, uncle sam?"

he chuckles, overlooking me and down to her little body,
"if moms okay with it"

"please mom?"

"we'll see" i brush the hair out of my face that the wind had placed there. i watch as she runs ahead of us, stopping at the familiar place she's visited most mornings.

"morning daddy" she grins, her hand placed on the grey solid stone.

sam and i stop a few feet away, his arm wrapped around me as i grin at my daughter.

"mommy said we might get ice cream today." she whispers, kissing the surface of the tombstone,
"i'll save some for you"

she turns to face us, running to attach to sams legs, he picks her up, playfully shaking her, causing her to spit into laughter.

"you ready to go bum?"

"yeah" she continues to giggle.

my eyes set back on his resting place. tracing the words ive seen every day for the past four years.

beloved son, loved one
and father.
Jace Lee Norman
march 21, 2000
september 13, 2018

sam grips onto my hand with his free one, my daughter attached to his hip. turning us around to head back to the car.

she runs her small hand up and down sams scruff on his face as we talk about this evening plans.

"we have until seven, i dont want her up any later than that."

"let me make you guys dinner" he grins

"stay the night uncle sam" she squishes his cheeks, begging,
"please!?"

he looks over at me for permission, i sigh, nodding as she screams with joy

"shh" he laughs, bouncing her around, reminding her that it wasnt the place to be loud.

"we can watch," her voice changes, imitating a pirate, " 'Are ya ready kids' "

i give him a confused look as he chuckles,
"she means spongebob"

"youre not staying up too late, got it?" i ruffle her bouncy hair.

"yes mom" she sighs, her personality so wild for so young.

sam continues to bounce her around, causing her squeeky laughs to keep coming.
my eyes glue to her, getting direct flashes of her dad.

the same face he made as he laughed. finding myself making connections with everything that she did.

it never failed to make me smile, knowing that he was always there. and it felt good.

its taken me this long to not only accept he wasn't coming back, but that my daughter would never have her father.

but watching what i had in front of me, my kid and my best friend, i had it all.

sometimes, happy endings are disguised with badnews.

knowing that has changed everything.

|~*~|

peep what i look like and what the best picture of jace is in this entire world in the q&a