A Stone Turned Soft

Chapter 8

Chloe woke up the next morning knowing it was Christmas Eve but not feeling up to any holiday festivities. Last night was a nice little break from reality, but the second she looked at her phone, reality punched her right back in the stomach. She had a missed call from her mom. She knew exactly what that meant. She called her back, knowing what she was going to say.

"Is she gone?" she asked simply

"Yeah, baby. She is," Zoe said, sounding like she was crying

"What time?"

"6:42 this morning."

"How did it happen?"

"In her sleep. Your Aunt Sadie and I woke up at the same time. We had already turned her heart monitor off, but we called the nurse in to take her respirations. She saw her take one last breath but she just never took another one."

"How is everyone doing?"

"She died peacefully. Not in any pain. It happened naturally, which is what we wanted. We were relieved to be completely honest. When the nurse told us, it was just a mixture of crying and laughing. We're gonna miss her of course, but she's with Benny! And Grandpa! So we're sad, but we're also happy she's reunited with them."

"Okay. Yeah. That makes sense. Are we gonna do anything for Christmas?"

"Of course, baby! Just maybe not tonight."

"Okay. I'll let you go now."

Chloe hung up the phone and took a deep breath. She tried to remember how she felt at the cemetery last night and what her mom thought about her death. She was determined not to cry. If her mom of all people was relieved then she would try to be too.

She walked out of the bedroom door and heard the faint sound of Grandma's favorite worship song coming from Anthony's room. She walked towards it. He sat at his laptop watching a slideshow he must have made in her memory. He wiped a tear from his cheek and sniffled.

"Anthony?" she prompted

"I know."

They said nothing more. They just sat there. Watching. Remembering. Chloe was still determined not to cry. Layla came in a few moments later. She sat next to her. Then she saw a picture of Anthony and Grandma at his high school graduation. A dark thought came to her mind. She would never have that. She would never have that graduation picture with Grandma by her side. She would never see her effulgent smile as she walked across the stage to get her diploma. Tears came to her eyes. She took a shaky deep breath, trying not to cry. But Layla put her hand on her back. Chloe lost it. She started weeping. Layla put her head on her shoulders and cried along with them. She knew the world had just lost one amazing person. No one moved until the slideshow was over. The 3 of them just let the tears stream down their face as they saw her for the last time. The second the slideshow was over, they sniffled and wiped their tears. Without saying a word, the girls got up and walked soberly out of the room, Layla's arm never leaving Chloe's shoulders. Anthony stayed frozen for another moment. He then awoke from his trance, shut his laptop, then forced himself to get ready for the morning.

The rest of the day, the family spent their time busying themselves, preparing for Christmas. They had been so preoccupied with Grandma that none of them had gotten any gifts for each other or made their usual Christmas treats. Anthony took the girls to the store and they all bought something for Zoe with their own money then went home to bake. They baked cookies, almond brittle, banana bread, and scones. It was a therapeutic in a way. It helped get their minds off of Grandma so they could finally focus on holiday traditions. Zoe came home in the early afternoon but went straight to bed so the kids tried their best not to be too loud. They put some Christmas music on and put all their creations into decorated boxes and bags to give to their friends and family. After they were done with that, Layla came up with the idea to make Christmas dinner so that Zoe wouldn't have to worry about it. They found the recipes they needed then went to the store again to get ingredients. They made the family's famous cheesy potato casserole, a rotisserie chicken, green beans, salad, Red Lobster rolls, and for dessert, chocolate chip bread pudding topped with whipped cream. They had so much food that they even had to ask a neighbor to use their oven to bake the dessert! By the time they were done, they were all exhausted after a surprisingly fun but long day of baking so they all took a nap while the food was in the oven. When the timer rang, it shocked Chloe out of her deep sleep. She woke the others up and looked at her phone, seeing the text to pick up the dessert as well. She sent Anthony next door to pick it up while the girls set the table. They used their fanciest, most Christmasy looking tablecloth, their shiniest silverware, their finest bowls and plates, and did their best to recreate how restaurants wrap their silverware in a large red napkin which they placed beside each table setting. To finish it off, they lit a scented candle to, in Layla's words, "set the mood." As they looked at their masterpiece, for the first time that year, it finally felt like Christmas. Chloe asked Anthony to set up the slideshow he had made for Grandma on the TV and told him to change into his Christmas best while the girls went upstairs to wake up Zoe. Chloe walked into the room silently but she was already awake. She was sitting at the side of her bed looking at her phone.