Chapter Twenty One-My View

Darin walked into the house, " Here would you like for me to take that coat?" my mother asked.

"Sure. Thank you," she took his coat and hung it on the coat hanger that was by the door in the front door hallway. "I'm done with dinner, so you can take a seat anywhere you like at the table", she said, "Your father in law, isn't being quite commutative, you know?" she whispered. She was right, all he was doing was sticking himself in front of that T.V. I know that his daughter has passed, well that's what they think, but Darin is the only one that knows the truth. But they'll see tonight. My mom walked into the living room to get my father and drag him to the table, "Well how are you son?" my dad greeted Darin. Darin arose from his seat and shared a hug with my father, " I'm doing great tonight. How are you, sir?" he asked.

 "Great. I'm glad that you could join us for dinner," he said. 

My mom walked in, "So, the food is in here and just help yourself, alright? Buffet style tonight," she said. 

"I like that," Darin said.

       There was barely any kind of table talk, may be because they didn't really know how to talk about anything and we all know that the table isn't really the place to talk about anything serious. So, dinner and dessert moved pretty quick. Every once and awhile they would share glances at each other, to see if any one else was feeling the tension in the air too. I hated that I caused the tension. I hated seeing my parents like this, but they should stay together. But I don't know if it would mean anything since tomorrow night is my last night here. My job of looking over Darin will be complete. It was a short mission and one and I will certainly miss.

     They moved themselves into the living room and sat down in front of the T.V. Once again! I made my way over to Darin and sat there. I touched his leg, to let him know that I was there, and for him to meet me in the bathroom. Somewhere we could talk, "Meet me in the hall bathroom," I whispered.

"Where's your bathroom?" he asked my father.

My dad looked up from the T.V. "Down the hall on the right," he said.

"Thank you," Darin replied.

I followed him to the bathroom, "Dinner was pretty awkward, huh?" I asked him.

"Yeah, pretty much so. I mean I can see why. There's not really anything positive to talk about, you know?" 
" So, how are you going to bring this about?" I asked him.

"Aren't you going to help me?"

" Once you bring it up I will. Trust me."

"Alright. I'll just see when the right time is. Before or after opening presents?" he wondered. Ugghhh, he stressed too much! "Babe, kind of follow my mother's lead alright? And when you see that she's settled in and comfortable and when you know that the time would be a great time to have their attention, then lay the cards out on the table," I explained.

"Okay, sounds good."

"Great, now I'll be out there with you, so don't worry, babe."

" I'll try my best, no promises here," he chuckled. I reached for a loving kiss and I opened the door for him.

     I sat beside Darin as they were unwrapping gifts. Everyone got a gift but me. I looked over at the tree and there was one gift left and my mom wasn't touching it. I was guessing that was my gift that I could've been opening if I was really there. Physically. I watched Darin rip open his gift and there was five new Ralph Lauren shirts to add to his collection. Probably all the help of my father. Sorry, but I do have to say that my dad does have some good fashion sense. My dad picked up all the leftover wrapping paper off the ground and placed them in a garbage bag. "When he comes back, it would be a good time to say something," I mentioned to Darin. I nodded in agreement.

Darin got up from the couch and walked in front of the T.V. "Excuse you son," my dad said. Darin looked back over at me, and I gave him a nod to keep going. " Sir, I need to tell you and your wife something. Something that you would like to hear, but at the same time it's going to be hard to believe," he explained.

"Go on, dear. We're listening," my mother said. She crossed her legs over and placed her hands in her lap, ready to hear what's coming her way. "Okay, so ever since Jessica had passed, well," I walked over to stand beside him to help him figure out how to say things, because the way things were going so far, wasn't going to end out well for either of us, "Repeat after me, babe," I said, " When Jessica had passed, she didn't really completely pass, yet."

 "When Jessica had passed, she didn't really completely pass, yet."

My mom's expression wasn't unbelievable. Like she couldn't believe not a single word that came out of Darin's mouth. "She's still here," I said.

"She's still here." Darin repeated.

"Son, I don't think that's a funny joke. This is something that you shouldn't joke about. Now, you either drop it or get out of my house," my dad said in an insulting tone. 

"Stay calm, babe," I said to Darin. 

He nodded, "Actually if you don't believe me right now, she's standing right beside me, as we speak. I know I may sound crazy or stupid, but it's true. Please, believe me."

" Let's prove it to them," I said.

"She wants me to help her prove herself to ya'll."

"Sure," my dad said.

"Follow me to the kitchen," he directed. I watched Darin take his glass that he used for dinner and placed it in the middle of the kitchen table.

 "You want me to move it, babe?" I asked him.

" Yes," he said aloud. I moved to where I was near the glass and placed my hand on it. I moved it all the way across the other side of the table. My mom screamed and fell to her knees. Tears and tears started falling down her cheeks and landing on the tile floor. My dad fell down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. This was something that I would want to freeze and hold forever.

"What do you want me to do?" Darin asked me.

" Tell them the real reason why I want them to know I'm here. Also, tell them I won't be here for long. That tomorrow night is my last night."

"Right," Darin said, sadly.

"We're talking about that later, remember?" I reminded him.

Darin walked over to my parents and laid a hand on their backs, "There's more that she's wants ya'll to know, before ya'll get to out of hand," he said.

"What? Please tell us," my mom begged. Tears kept forming and falling.

"Please come back into the living room and we can talk about it all."

"Alright," my dad helped my mom off the floor and they went and sat in the living room, ready for the rest of the news.