We kept Javi for the night, talking quietly with a distraught Vlad in another room about what he had promised to do.
“Joy and I will tell Javi in the morning,” I said to Vlad.
“No. No, thank you, but it needs to be me. I’ve made a promise, and part of that is delivering a message from his mother. I’ll be back over at breakfast,” said a teary-eyed Vlad.
* * * *
The funeral was set for 3 p.m. the following day, at the cemetery everyone agreed had taken in more guests than ever before in one month.
The next morning a confident Vlad showed up, waiting patiently for Javi to finish breakfast. Javi had asked where his mom was last night, but Joy told him she was out for the night, but we would talk tomorrow.
“What exactly do you tell a young boy who has lost his second mother in so many months?” Joy asked me.
“I don’t know,” I told her. “I just don’t know.”
* * * *
Vlad took Javi outside, sitting on a bench as the birds sang this new morning.
“Your daddy saved my life, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know that,” Javi said. “How?”
“He and Lance drove me all the way to a hospital when my leg was bad and made me really sick. Then, do you know what your daddy did?”
“No,” he responded, becoming more interested in the story.
“Then he won me back in a boxing match!”
“Were you lost, Mr. Vlad?”
“No, but some people wanted to keep me longer than I wanted to be there. Your daddy boxed the champion of the whole place and beat him. Then he won me, like a prize.”
“That’s funny,” said Javi.
“It’s strange, for sure,” replied Vlad. “Your mom says I’m supposed to give you a hug and tell you she loves her Snuggle Bug. Do you know what that means?”
“Yes, sir. She always calls me that.”
“Can I do that?”
“Okay,” he said, leaning in for a quick hug. “When is she coming to get me?” he asked, as if she had just gone to run a quick errand.
“She loves you very much,” said Vlad, not able to hold back the tears or answer the question directly…
“There was an accident at the machine shop last night, and she went to heaven.”
Javi, with no expression, was processing the information in his fragile young mind.
“Do you understand?” asked Vlad, after another thirty seconds without a response.
“Is she in pain?” Javi asked.
“No, she feels good and free. They say it’s just like that up there.”
“Do you know anyone up there, Mr. Vlad?”
“Yes, my wife is there, and both of my parents.”
“Can you talk to them?”
“I do almost every day.”
He buried his head into Vlad’s shoulder, erupting into tears and mostly inaudible pleas to bring her back. They sat there for nearly 30 minutes before the last tear of the morning had been shed by either one. “What if my daddy doesn’t come back?” asked Javi. “Will he come back?”
“I don’t know,” replied Vlad, “but I do know he will do everything he can to see you again. You can count on that. And for now, I will take care of you like my very own. That’s what your mother asked me to do, and I promised her I would. A man never goes back on a promise; you know that, right?”
“Yes, sir,” he said, laying his head back on Vlad’s shoulder, not moving for what seemed like an hour to Vlad but could have been all day if it was up to him.
* * * *
“Hey, guys,” came a voice from across the lawn. Can I sit with you two?” Anna asked Javi.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.
“I’m Anna, and I know we haven’t talked much but I’m a special friend of Vlad here. I knew your mom and dad—not very well but enough to know they both love you very much. Can we take a walk, just you and me?” she asked, knowing Vlad had to get to work soon.
“Okay,” he replied, taking her hand.
“You’re a good man, Vlad,” she whispered, blowing him a kiss.
Joy and I watched it all from inside, not hearing a word spoken and not needing to. Some time later, not too long, though, I left for work—vowing to Joy that I would be careful. She told the boys about Sheila, and they asked if they could still play with Javi.
“Of course,” she told them. “He needs good friends, now more than ever.”
* * * *
The funeral services were getting a bit morose for Mac, who wasn’t too fond of funerals in general, and he wondered how many spots were still available under the meticulously manicured grass, even now. The cemetery had been here and in use since the 1940s and wasn’t built to handle this heavy of a load, he was told by a Council member.
He gave a quick nod, spotting his old friend. Jimmie’s headstone sat on fresh dirt towards the center of the squared grounds. Mac hadn’t known Sheila and only talked with her for a minute, but she seemed nice—and she was a great mechanic, he had heard from more than a few in Lance’s group.
John gave a nice service, with a few from our group speaking about her, including Joy and Nancy. Lonnie’s wife refused to attend, still citing the fire incident daily.
