Lost Read Online Free Page B

moment.
    “Daddy got us
some earrings like that, right, Mom?” Jessie asked.
    “He did. For
your birthday last year. Aren’t you wearing them today?” I leaned over and
moved Jessie’s hair out of the way to peer at her ears.
    “I am! Look,
Claudia. Aren’t they pretty?” Maggie leaned over and showed Claudia the tiny
silver wolves with turquoise around their necks.
    Brian had been
thrilled when he found them, saying they would be perfect for the girls, who
had just gotten their ears pierced. I remembered how excited he was. He didn’t
even wait for their birthday party. Instead, he gave them to them that morning,
telling them they would be as pretty as me, and that the color was beautiful on
them. The girls loved those earrings. They wore them almost every day.
    “Maggie. Those
earrings are beautiful!” Claudia was genuinely interested. “I like them a lot.
And they look so pretty. Here, you should do this to your hair so everyone can
see them.”
    Claudia pushed
Maggie’s hair behind her ears, and sure enough, the tiny earrings sparkled.
Maggie preened, and Jessie quickly did the same to her hair. My girls.
    “Hey, I have an
idea. Daddy bought you those earrings here. Let’s finish up dinner and go pick
out some new earrings.” I offered.
    “For me?”
Jessie asked.
    “Me too?”
Maggie joined in.
    “Sure! I think
I would like a new pair as well. Claudia, how about you?”
    “Mrs. Klevan,
you don’t have to do that!” But I could see the excitement in her eyes.
    “I know, but it
will be fun. Jimmy’s father bought me a piece of turquoise jewelry for Mother’s
Day for almost 18 years, and I love each and every piece. I don’t want the
tradition to stop. So why not? I’ll continue it!”
    After that,
dinner was lively. The kids talked about school. They told horrible jokes, and
we laughed. After I paid the check we got up and made our way to the tiny
jewelry store that only sold silver. Everything Silver. Horrible name, great
stuff.
    “Mommy, I like
these!” Maggie excitedly pointed to some tiny butterflies with turquoise wings.
    “Oh. Those are pretty! They would look good on you, Mag. I like these.” Jessie pointed to
flowers with blue petals.
    And then I saw
them. Silver hoops, with turquoise inlay. Gorgeous.
    “Claudia, find
anything?” I asked.
    She shyly
pointed to some tiny roses, similar to the pair Jessie coveted.
    “Those would
look beautiful on you,” Jimmy pointed out, and he was right. The turquoise
would be lovely with her pale skin and thick red hair.
    “Looks like we
all found our earrings,” I declared.
    The sales
associate helped us with our purchases, and the three girls all decided to wear
theirs right away. I put mine away and decided they would bring me luck in my
search for a job. These earrings represented acceptance to me. I would cherish
everything we had, all that Brian gave us, but I was also coming to realize
that I had a choice to make. I could see him around every corner and hear his
voice at night. Or I could hold on to the good times and remember that he would
want us all to make new memories and figure out our way without him. He would
hate it if his death broke me, so I was making a choice not to let it. In a
way, I felt it was the only choice I could make. If I continued to wallow in my
own pity, the kids would do the same. They would start to think that the good
times brought too much pain, and that is all they would come to associate with
their Dad. How could I do that to them?
    “Mommy?” Jessie
was tugging on my arm.
    “Oh, sorry.
What’s up?”
    “Can we go play
putt-putt? Instead of the movie?” Jessie asked, but the four kids all looked at
me expectantly. “Please? And ride the bumper boats?”
    “You mean
Funland?” Ugh. Funland on a Saturday night?
    “Please, Mommy?
We haven’t been in a long time!” Jessie urged. She was right. I didn’t even
remember the last time we went to Funland. Though that was more Brian’s thing
than mine.