Her Own Wings

Tyler

Liz and Jack left the hospital and went home. Harmony met them at the house, and had Tyler with her.

"Momma!" Tyler said, and ran to his Mom and threw his arms around her. She scooped him up and gave him a big hug.

"Tyler, sweetheart, I missed you. How are you, sweetie?"

"Good. Grandma took me to the pool, and made me a chili dog for lunch. Yum!"

"Sounds like you had fun, Ty!" Jack said.
"Daddy! Why you home now?" Tyler reached out for his Dad, and had a confused look on his face. "You never home during daytime, Daddy!"

"Well, I was with your Mom, and we wanted to see you, so we came home. Let's go sit down. Harmony, you want to join us?"

"Sure. Let's go."

"Ty, come here and sit on my lap." Jack picked his son up and gave him a big hug. She sat down on the couch next to Jack, and grabbed Tyler's hand. Harmony sat on the loveseat across from Jack, Liz and Tyler.

"Tyler, your Mom and I wanted to talk to you about Timmy."

Tyler interrupted, "Where is Timmy? He sleeping?"

"No, Tyler. Timmy isn't sleeping. Remember he got hit by the...."

"Yeah, the mean car hit Timmy and put him in hospital. Grandma says Timmy hurt bad."

"Yes, Tyler, the car did hit him. Timmy was hurt very bad, and this afternoon, he wasn't able to live any more, so he died. The good news is that he will no longer have any hurts, ever again."

"Ok. When will he wake up, Daddy? I wanna swim with Timmy."

"Tyler, sweetie," Liz said, "He won't wake up. He died. That means his body will be put in the ground, and he will sleep there forever, and will never wake up."

"Will I see him again?" Tyler asked.

"No, Tyler" answered Jack, "We won't see him again. We are going to have a funeral, a time to say goodbye. Then, we will put him in a special box called a casket, then bury that in the ground. They will put a special stone up, called a headstone, and it will have his name and we can go there any time we want to look at the stone, and be with his body. But, we won't see him, or be able to touch him, or hear his voice ever again."

Tyler looked at his Mom and Dad, and they watched his bottom lip start to tremble. His eyes filled up with tears, and then the splashed onto his cheeks. He dove into his mothers lap, and buried his head in her neck, and wrapped his short arms around her, and hugged. He began to sob, and she felt his entire body shaking with grief. Everyone was quiet, and Jack leaned over and wrapped his arms around both Liz and Tyler. Jack couldn't contain his tears any longer, and he felt them roll down his cheeks.

Eventually, Tyler cried himself to sleep, and Jack gently pulled him out of her arms, and took Tyler to the guest bed, and laid him down to rest. Jack walked back into the family room to see Liz and her Mom hugging each other.
"Jack, I was thinking, could I take Tyler back home with me tonight? You and Liz have an early appointment at the funeral home, and I am off tomorrow, and it'll be easier for me to have him there."

"Thanks, Harmony, that would be fantastic. Liz, can you help me get a bag together for Tyler?"

"Jack, I have all I need for him at my house. No need to pack a bag. Why don't you two go rest, and I'll cook something for dinner. Once Tyler wakes up, I'll feed him and leave. If you guys aren't awake when we leave, I have a key, so I'll lock up. I'll put a plate for you both in the fridge."

"Again, thanks Harmony." Jack said as he grabbed her hand, "Let's go lay down and get some rest, ok?"

"Ok, Jack. Mom, thank you. Thank you for everything." She hugged her Mom, and then walked to her bedroom and snuggled into Jack in their bed.