He crept up to the slightly ajar door and peered inside.
Rosaline was kneeling by the side of her bed. Her beauty in the light of the candle took his breath away. Her white night dress made her look like an angel. Her hair was hanging down to the floor, the candlelight highlighting the auburn strands, and she had a look of serene peace on her face. He could just make out the words she was whispering into the night.
“Lord, thank you for calling me to this beautiful family and for giving me the strength to carry out my role. Please help Thomas find his way back to you. He has a kind heart beneath all of his hurt. Let your light shine through me and show him the way.”
Thomas was deeply touched by her thoughts about him. He’d thought she saw him as a tyrant, not a kind man that had lost his way. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he shifted.
Robbie began to cry in his crib, startled by the sudden noise.
Rosaline looked up and noticed him standing by the door. She quickly came to her feet. “I’m sorry if I woke you,” she said apologetically and made her way to the crib. Lifting Robbie out, she soothed him against her chest.
Thomas came in as if it were a completely natural thing for him to do and stroked the top of Robbie’s head. “I’m sorry I woke him.”
“Not to worry,” she smiled reassuringly. “He will drop off again soon enough.” She swayed him gently back and forth. “Would you like to hold him?”
Thomas was taken aback and began to protest when Rosaline gently lifted Robbie into his arms. He awkwardly cradled his son against his chest as Robbie began to fuss.
“Why don’t you rock with him? He likes that,” she gestured towards the rocking chair.
Thomas felt a tug in his heart. The last time he’d sat in that chair, it had been beside his wife’s bed on that fateful night.
Robbie began to cry in his arms, startling him from his thoughts. He gently backed into the chair, his previous misgivings evaporating as he attempted to soothe his son.
“It helps if you sing to him,” Rosaline said kneeling beside the rocking chair and stroking Robbie’s soft blond curls. She began to softly sing.
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee
Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee…”
Thomas was surprised at how beautiful Rosaline’s voice was. He noticed how Robbie stopped fussing and closed his eyes.
“Let the water and the blood
From Thy riven side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure
Cleanse me from its guilt and power…”
He felt a growing peace in his chest as he rocked his sleeping son against his chest to the sound of Rosaline’s sweet, melodious voice. Thomas felt his eyes closing.
“Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to thy cross I cling
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to thy cross I cling…”
***
Thomas opened his eyes and looked around the nursery. The last thing he could remember was cradling Robbie in his arms while Rosaline sang to him.Rosaline...He hadn’t known she had such a beautiful voice.
He rose from the chair, half expecting to be stiff from a night asleep in the chair. Stretching, he was surprised that his body felt completely relaxed. It was the first time in a very long time that he had fallen asleep so easily again after having a nightmare.
