The Lucky Paw

Chapter 18

October 7, 1999

Business has been picking up with lightning speed. Because it is nearing Halloween, people are requesting paintings of pumpkins and other Halloween things. Clothes with Halloween symbols stitched in are in great demand as well. I have been working hard. Sales always go up during holiday seasons, but I am still very proud of the fact that customers are buying things more now. I suppose I shouldn't be, but I cannot help it. This holiday season should be extra special. We can celebrate being together. Because being together is everything for me.

December 7, 1999

Ah, Christmas is upon us once more. Everyone is in high spirits. This Christmas is a special one. We are happy. That probably does not seem like much of a reason to celebrate, but for our family it is. All that matters is that we are a happy family. Katy will love playing with her new toys and dolls we got her for Christmas. She is so adorable. We are so blessed to have her in our family!

Katy looked at her watch, then scanned the rest of the entries. She knew she should get back in bed, but she desperately wanted to finish reading the diary, and there were only a few left. Katy smiled and continued to read.

February 7, 2000

My little baby is five! I simply cannot believe that five years have gone by! She makes me laugh so hard sometimes. Often she'll play dress-up with my things. I can get out of bed one morning and find her lurching around the kitchen in high-heeled boots that come to her knees, a dress that touches the ground, and a scarf that comes down to her legs. And when we laugh at her, she seems to be delighted. Purely delighted.

Katy glanced at her watch again. There was only one entry left. She decided to read it. She prepared herself, for she knew that this would be the entry in which her father died. When she was ready, she began to read.

April 7, 2000

The most terrible thing possible has happened in the last few days. Mike is dead. Yes, he is dead. He was driving his car to work three days ago when a truck went out of control. The driver did all he could to keep the vehicles from crashing, but there was nothing he could do. The truck hit Mike's car and killed both him and the driver. He was such a sweet and loving husband and father. It feels impossible that he is gone. His death was even more sudden than my sister's. Katy cried when she heard the news. Mike is to be buried next to my parents. His death has left me with an emptiness, like my parents', but it is even worse than their death because now there is no one, other than Katy, but she is too young to understand. There is no one to wipe away my tears and hold me for as long as I need it. There's no one to whisper soothing things in my ear and there's no one left who could always be there for me, waiting with open arms and sweet lips to kiss. Mike was so much more than my husband; he was my best friend. I have never loved anyone else the way that I loved Mike. Nor have I loved anyone as much as I loved him, excepting Katy. His death has stabbed my heart and left me weak and vulnerable, without him there to tell me that everything will be okay. Every time I think about him being gone, the pain is so severe that it feels like I'm being shot. My pain is blinding. I miss him more than I could have ever imagined that I could miss anyone. I have closed shop for a while so that I can mourn my loss. Tonight, Katy slept with me in my bed. I held her and we both cried. It hurts, it really does. I know that life will move on. But right now, we are mourning. Katy is such a comfort to me. I bring her comfort too. We just sit there and hug each other and cry. We hold tightly to each other, because I think that somehow we both know that we are all we have left. Our lives have been changed drastically, and we may suffer the pain, but at least we have each other. I think we both bond closer together because of it. We both only have each other now.

Katy sighed. The last entry had given her no clue as to where her mother was. Katy knew one thing, though. Her mother had not left of her own accord. She would not go anywhere without Katy at a time like that.