“And then she said ‘Mr. Thompson, I’m sorry but your wife has passed.’ And I thought ‘my name isn’t Mr. Thompson, and I’m not married to Katrina.’ Then it dawned on me – the nurse hadn’t come to give me any bad news! It was the scariest moment of my life.” I said, laughing, to my youngest son’s new fiancée.
     Katrina squeezed my shoulder. “He always worries about me too, much,” she teased, but I could see love in her eyes. “But anyway, that woman that he said looked familiar – she was very familiar to me. It was my mother. I never got to see her, but she wrote me a letter I still remember it word-for-word:

Dearest Katrina,

I know I’ve been a bad mother. I know I haven’t been around. I won’t even try to explain myself to you, because I know it doesn’t matter. You either won’t care or it will just hurt you more, and I’ve done enough damage. I thought about you a lot…but I was too ashamed to try to find you or your father. Then your boyfriend called my mother looking for me, and I changed my mind. I didn’t have the money, so I drove up to Ohio. I’m sorry I didn’t see you, it would break my heart to see you in pain again. And I can’t let it break, my daughter, because I have decided to donate it to you, so that you may live on. I pray that you will make better use of it than I ever did. I don’t expect your forgiveness, or even deserve it, but I do want you to be happy. And I know it may not seem like it, but I have always, and will always, love you. Tell your father the same, and that I am sorry for everything I put him through.

Always with love,

Mom

    Katrina closed her eyes and smiled as she finished her recitation, as she always did. Trevor’s fiancée covered her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. “That’s so sad,” she whispered.
    Katrina shook her head. “It was one of the happiest letters I ever received though. My mother gave her life for me, and while I never would have asked her to do that, it showed me she truly did love me, in spite of everything that happened. And that was enough to make me happy. But it also gave me a third chance at life.” She squeezed my hand. “Sharpie had saved my life by calling my grandmother to see if I could just hear from my mom one last time…I’m so blessed to have so many people to love me.”
    I could see Alicia was on the verge of crying, so I made a joke. “I just needed someone to make me tasty peanut butter sandwiches,” I mumbled. Katrina bopped me for that, even though she knew I was kidding around. “Do you see what you’re getting yourself into, Son?” I asked, rubbing my arm in mock pain.
    “I think she’s worth it, Dad,” and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
    “Ah, remember when we were young and foolish?” I asked Katrina wistfully, hugging her closer.
    “I remember being young. I was never foolish, and you still are.”
    I sighed. All these years together and I still couldn’t get the upper hand in our teasing games. Alicia giggled and declared us “cute.”
    “GRAMPA!” I heard a tiny voice shout and saw a little seven-year-old charging at me. I scooped her up.
    “Well hello little Chelsea! You are getting big!” She nodded excitedly and showed me a big gap in her teeth. “You lost a tooth! Did the tooth fairy pay you a visit?”
    “Yeah! I got a dollar, Grandpa Sharpie!”
    “Who told you to call me Sharpie?” I asked raising an eyebrow. I already knew.
    Chelsea pointed out the guilty party, and Katrina’s eyes glowed with mischief. “Grammaw! She told me she’d give me a cookie if I called you Grandpa Sharpie.”
    “Did she? Well! If you call her Cowgirl, I’ll take you for a plane ride.”
    “Really?! Hey grandma, your name’s Cowgirl now!”
    Katrina narrowed her eyes at me, and I grinned back smugly.
    “You two, always bickering,” Sadie, my oldest son Will’s wife said coming in. “Hi Mom and Dad!” She gave us hugs and kisses. Will came in behind her balancing a couple trays of food. It was Thanksgiving and everyone was coming over for dinner. We had four children in all, Will was the oldest, named after my dad, followed by David, named for Katrina’s dad, and then our only daughter Kimberly, named for Katrina’s mother, and then Trevor, whom we had named after our long-time family friend. All of them were married, except Trevor who would be marrying his girlfriend of three years after he finished up his master’s program next spring.
    “Here you go, Dad. More of Sadie’s wonderful cooking.” Will looked like me, but his wit and sarcastic charm he had inherited from his mother.
    Sadie scowled at him. “How did you two ever raise him without killing him?”
    I threw my hands in the air. “We left him at the zoo hoping they’d stick him in with the monkeys, but he kept escaping. But you’re a real trooper for taking him off our hands.” I gave her a sympathetic smile.
    “Dad, look who I found wandering the streets out here,” David said, coming through the door. Trev was with him.
    “Trevor Ryan, you old badger!” I gave him a hug.
    “Hey, J-bird! My man! Erika’s parking the car and T.J.’s gonna help her bring in the food.” I knew that Trevor and Erika had broken up just after high school as they each went away for college. He ran into her out of the blue one day after he finished his career at Northwestern and spent a few years in the NFL as a punt returner. They married shortly after.
    “T.J. Ryan?” Alicia said, her eyebrows raising. “Like the USC running back?”
    “That’s him. You a fan?” Trev asked.
    “Oh yeah. I was raised a Trojan fan by my father.”
    “Uncle J-bird! What’s good?” T.J. came in carrying a tray of cookies.
    “Holding down the fort, you know? I saw you on TV last weekend making them boys look silly on the field.”
    “Hey, yeah. It was alright.” It pleased me to see he took after his father when it came to humility.
    “He’s gonna go big-time, J-bird,” Trev said quietly to me. “He’s faster and smarter than his old man ever was.” I could see pride in his eyes.
    “He going to be a doctor too?” When Trev finished his stint in the NFL, he gave most of his money to his mom so she could stop working, and then he went back to med school and became a physician.
    “Nah, he told me if football doesn’t work out, he wants to be a teacher. You believe that? He must have his mama’s mind, huh?” He laughed heartily.
    “Mom! Dad!” Kimberly burst through the door. “I’m so sorry we’re late, thanks to grandpa, over here.” She cast a thumb at her husband Mike. I gave him a rueful smile and shrugged. Kim took after her mother as well, and I certainly felt his pain.
    We all sat down to eat, laughing and carrying on, the Katrinas of the group bickering with their spouses. I looked over the family we created and swelled with happy pride. It was so beautiful, so perfect. And to think I had almost lost all of it so many years ago…. And there, a silently thanked Katrina’s mother, again, and for keeping her in it.
    After the meal, we all drove out to the local airstrip where I had a small plane. I had become an aircraft engineer after all, and during the course of my life, I had taken flying lessons. I had to make several trips so everyone could have a turn, and I was particularly thrilled to take my granddaughter Chelsea up. She always squealed with delight as I banked the plane, and I had a feeling that she was going to be the next pilot in the family.
    When we were through flying, we said our goodbyes to each other, and wished T.J. luck for the upcoming Rose Bowl he would be playing in, and then they all went their separate ways. The house was quiet again, and I embraced Katrina. Time had been kind to her; she still had fair skin and her hair had only lightened by failed to go gray as mine had. She was still the most beautiful woman in the world, and I leaned in to kiss her.
    She pulled away. “No way, mister. You lose your kissing privileges for that sandwich comment you made earlier.” So I tickled her until she let her guard down and gave her the kiss.
    “You’re still so lovely. You haven’t changed a bit.” I told her, gazing into her eyes.
    “You either. You’re still a huge dork.” And she kissed me again. We just sat and cuddled on our couch, and then fell asleep by the fire.

    Though I always joked I would outlive her, Katrina died peacefully at age 83. It was hard, but nowhere near as tough as that thought of losing her so many years ago had been. I missed her dearly, and I dreamt of her often, about the times I would show her the stars in the sky, or the fondness of her touch. She had been there at all my life: when we won State my senior year, graduating college, our wedding and the kids, all of it we shared – Katrina was my life. But all I had to do was pick a memory and I would be filled with joy. I could still remember her flowery scent, the softness of her body, her gentle kiss, the way she sighed when I made a corny joke... all of it brought a smile to my face. And again, I silently thanked her mother, the woman to whom I owed all my happiness, for granting Katrina her wish.