Becoming Forever (Waking Forever Series) Read Free Page B

chairs. “I love you both. You’re wonderful, and I’m lucky.”
    James turned to face Ash, and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “We’re the lucky ones.”
    The three stood, and hugged. Ash remembered thinking how differently that exchange could have gone had her parents not been so encouraging. She knew people who had lost their families when they came out, and she never took for granted the  acceptance she found with her own.
    Sitting now in the emergency room, Ash’s arms were wrapped around her father because of a very different, far more dire circumstance. Leaning back so she could see his face, Ash managed to speak through her own tears. “I promise, we’ll get through this.” She was only vaguely aware of Katy handing her and James a tissue.
    “Mr. Haines?” A tall, portly man in his late fifties, dressed in a lab coat stood just outside the semi-circle the family had formed around James and Ash. “I’m Dr . Freeman. We talked briefly when they brought Elizabeth in.”
    James looked up, and wiped at his eyes with the tissue. “Yes.” Standing, James took Ash’s hand and put his arm around Michael. “These are our children . Ash, Michael, Jason and his wife Katy.”
    Dr . Freeman nodded and smiled. “I am very sorry for your loss. I know the suddenness of it only adds to your grief.”
    Ash wiped at her nose with a tissue, and squeezed her father’s hand. “What happened?”
    “We think, given your mother’s condition when she was brought in , that she had an aneurysm.” The doctor hesitated. “She more than likely died instantly.”
    A sob caught in the back of Ash’s throat, and she leaned into her father. Jason put his arm around her as he continued to hold Katy at his side. He cleared his throat. “ So she wasn’t in pain?”
    The doctor shook his head. “More than likely , no.” Looking at James, the doctor continued. “State law dictates an autopsy be performed, since she was in the home alone at the time of death. That should take about three days, and then she can be released for services.”
    Ash had dealt with enough ER doctors in her work to know Dr . Freeman was one of the better ones. The fact he wasn’t referring to her mother as ‘the body’ put him well above some of his counterparts.
    A few years ago, when Ash was still a patrol officer, her partner at the time had to pull her off of an ER doctor. The man had taken the opportunity to inform a distraught mother that her daughter might have survived the hit and run had she been wearing a bicycle helmet. The inference that the dead child had paid proportionally for her failure to adhere to bicycle safety rules had been too much for Ash. Luckily the doctor didn’t press charges.
    Ash looked over at her father, and then her brothers. They were nodding as Dr . Freeman continued to explain the process. Ash’s mind wandered to her last conversation with her mother. They had argued over whether to have pork or beef ribs at the bar-b-que.
    “Ma, we’re in Texas, and a pork rib is an appetizer here.” Ash had insisted.
    “Ashley, you of all people should know size doesn’t matter. Besides, I prefer the taste of pork ribs.” Elizabeth had countered.
    “ First - eww to the size reference, and second why not do both?” Ash suggested.
    There had been a long pause on the other end of the phone. “Well, all right then.”
    Ash nodded. “Good. Gotta go. Love you.”
    “Love you too.”
    “Ash? Ash?” Jason’s voice broke into his sister’s reminiscing.
    Ash shook her head . She realized Dr. Freeman had left, and her family was standing staring at her. “Sorry.”
    “Mom had everything taken care of, so we really just need to get the obituary out and ensure people know.” Jason was always the one to lay everything out and organize the group. As the oldest, he tended to take charge of most family gatherings. Plus his chosen profession as an architect made planning and organizing second nature to