Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 561(@200wpm)___ 449(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 561(@200wpm)___ 449(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Elena gripped her sister’s hand as Beth’s words whispered off into sobs. Then she spoke her own. “I’ve been so angry with you for so long, Mama,” she whispered. “But today, I’m letting that go even as I hold the memory of your love in my heart.
“Thank you for loving us with gentleness and warmth, for drenching our childhood in sunshine. I hope that you fly on the wings of freedom now, no longer caught in the grief of the past.” Her rib cage pressed inward, her heart too big for her chest. “There’s no pain anymore, Mama, not for you. I will always love you.”
Jeffrey put his hand on her lower back, supporting her as her voice thickened, and inside her mind, the waves of Raphael caressed her in comfort. Her grandparents flanked them, Majda to Beth’s left, Jean-Baptiste to Jeffrey’s right.
“Belle,” she said, “my wild and beautiful big sister, I miss you. I’ll always miss you, but you taught me how to be a big sister with the way you always found time for me—even when I was at my most annoying.” She laughed and it was a sound wet and rough. “Thank you for trying to teach my two left feet to dance, and for showing me how to punch out that kid in school who was trying to bully me.”
Tears rolled down her face and she didn’t stop them. “Ari, I miss you so much. I can imagine the wise counsel you’d have given me over the years, and all the tight, warm hugs in which you’d have enfolded me.
“I was so lucky to have you as a big sister. You taught me that love keeps no ledger, and that loyalty among sisters is forever. Thank you for my first ever secret diary with its own lock, and for never telling anyone about my first crush.”
Taking a shuddering breath as Beth cried next to her, she said, “I hope I’ve done you both proud in stepping in as a big sister.”
Marguerite’s parents were the next to speak, their words in the language of the place where Marguerite had been born, flowing and lyrical. They sobbed as they said their goodbyes to their treasured child and to the granddaughters they’d never met. Both touched their fingers to the urn, couldn’t seem to let go.
No one rushed them.
Then, it was time for Jeffrey to say what he would. Urn in his arms, he stared out at the water for a long time, his lashes blinking rapidly. But the tears still fell, still streaked that thin patrician face. When he spoke, it was in French. Words of love for his Marguerite, the wife who had left him broken.
Elena didn’t attempt to translate; these were private thoughts from a husband to a wife—and they were also a kindness to the wife who stood with him today. Elena loved her father all the more for being respectful of Gwendolyn even as he said goodbye to the love of his life.
To his daughters, he said, “I’ve never forgotten you, my baby girls. Not for a single day. My guilt at not being able to save you, at not being there that day, turned me into a papa you wouldn’t have recognized. It made me angry and hard and mean, and it almost destroyed my relationship with your Ellie.
“I’m so sorry for that. You would’ve been ashamed of me, and of what I became. I promise that I’ll never again use your loss as an excuse to be a bad father. Ellie and Beth will know the papa they used to know—and so will Amy and Eve, these two sisters whose lives could never cross paths with yours.”
His voice grew hoarse, torn. “I loved you from the day the nurses put you into my arms, my rebellious, funny Mirabelle who dragged me to dance in the rain. I know you would’ve always held me to account as you grew. You’d have chosen your own path, no matter what I said, and I’d have been so proud of you for always being you.”
Elena leaned into her father, telling him without words that he wasn’t alone, all of them connected by love and grief.
“My Ariel, my calm in the storm. You were such a sweet baby who grew into the sweetest little girl. You could always make me take stock, make me realize that nothing was as important as how much I loved you and your sisters and your mother.
“I know you’d have been my heir, the stable CEO who would have taken over the empire I built for my family. I would’ve never worried with you at the helm. I would’ve been so proud to have you there.”
His shoulders shook with his tears. “I don’t want to say goodbye,” he managed to get out. “But I have to set you free.”