Three weeks postpartum and Ernie wanted no one but Cherie. Remedy had been lying with him resting in her arms for the last three hours. Erys paced the hallway outside with Heir in his arms. He’d done the feeding from Remedy’s breast milk stash. He’d change the diapers, he burped and rocked. Everything he needed to do to keep himself together.
Four days ago, hospice came in to make Ernie as comfortable as possible while his body shut down. Once Heir came into the world, Ernie began his exit. Erys found peace in the fact that he and his father shared these moments over the last month and a half. This moment was solely for Remedy.
She rubbed his back and hummed lowly. “I will always love you. Please find me next time around.”
“Rem,” he weakly spoke her name, after hours of calling her Cherie.
“Yes, Mr. Ernie?”
“I am so thankful for you. For everything you’ve done for me. You brought my son back to me and gave me a grandson. I’m going to love you forever. I’ll watch over you, I promise. Do some good with my legacy and love that boy of mine. Your love keeps the darkness away,” Ernie spoke.
Remedy clutched her eyes closed, feeling his heart rate decrease with every passing second. “I love you too, Ernie. More than we have time to express. You’ve given me so much. You saw me when no one else did. You’re my best friend. I’m going to miss you so much. When you see, Cherie, tell her I can handle it and both of you can rest now. Okay?”
Ernie’s breathing turned shallow, his hold on her relaxing.
“God, thank You for letting me have him this long. As his soul returns to You, forgive him of all his wrongs. Grant him the peace he couldn’t find here. I’ll nurture his second chance. I promise I’ll do some good with his name,” Remedy cried and kissed Ernie’s forehead. “Rest well, Ernest. Tell May I miss her,please. I’m going to miss you, man. I can go on from here. I promise.”
His breathing stopped and Remedy buried her face into the pillow and sobbed quietly while her body adjusted to life without him. One soul left so she could love his extension. When she climbed out of the bed, an hour had passed. Erys sat on the floor, free of Heir, outside of the room. Evidence of tears on his face. Remedy sat by him and pulled her husband into her.
“I wouldn’t have had a chance to make things right with him without you. Thank you for being the realest friend he ever had. Thank you for taking care of him. You get to relax now, I got y’all from here.” Erys spoke somberly into her chest.
She rubbed his back, kissed the top of his head, and sniffled. “You got me. I got you. This is what he wanted. Us living the life he dreamt about. We’re going to do that. We’re going to tell Heir stories about his larger-than-life grandfather. I’m going to love you and be your best friend. I’m going to be the remedy to your chaos for the rest of my life.”
“Blood in, blood out.”
“And that’s on Sweet Lick Ernie and the gang,” Remedy spoke with a soft laugh.
“On Sweet Lick Ernie and the gang,” Erys chuckled through his sorrow. “I love you, woman.”
“I love you, man. I love you.”
The end
