Angel Falls

It felt like only a few minutes later that Dad shut the book and set it on the table by the lamp.

Dad took him in his big, strong arms and held Bret tightly. “I think you should visit Mommy. It’s … important now. ”

Dad had never said that before—that it was important that Bret see her. All along, he’d thought he didn’t matter …

Dad said quietly, “It’s not a scary place. Just a plain old room with a plain old bed. I wouldn’t lie to you, Bret. Your mom looks just like she used to … only she’s sleeping. ”

“Why wouldn’t you let me see her in the beginning?”

“Truth? Because of the bruises on her face. She didn’t look very good, and the machines were scary. Now everything is fine. It won’t scare you to see her, Bret. I promise. It might make you sad, might even make you cry, but sometimes when little boys are becoming big boys, they have to let themselves cry. ”

“You swear she’s alive?”

“I swear it. ”

Bret wanted to believe his dad.

“She needs to hear your voice, Bretster. I know she has been missing her favorite boy in the whole world. ”

For the first time, Bret wondered if maybe he could wake her up. After all, he was her favorite boy and she loved him more than the whole world. She always told him that. Maybe all this time she’d been waiting to hear him. “I could sing to her,” he said softly. “Maybe that song from Annie … Remember when she took me to see the show? That song, ‘Tomorrow,’ she always sang it to me when I couldn’t sleep. ”

His dad started to sing, very softly, “The sun’ll come up … tomorrow—”

“Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow …”

Bret joined in and they sang the whole song together, and when it was over, he didn’t feel so much like crying anymore. “I could go see her tomorrow—before school. ”

Dad’s voice was quiet now, a little shaky. “That’d be great. Hey, you want to sleep in my bed tonight?”

“Could I?”

“You bet. ”

Together, hand in hand, they got out of bed and headed out of the room. All the time they were walking, Bret kept thinking about that song; it kept spinning through his head until he was smiling.

The next morning, Bret got up early and took a shower—without anyone even asking him to. He dressed carefully in his best clothes, a pair of black Levi’s jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. Then he raced back into his dad’s bedroom and stood by the bed.

“Daddy,” he said, poking him in the arm. “Daddy, wake up. ”

Dad rolled onto his side and opened one eye. “Hey, Bretster,” he said in a scratchy voice, “what—”

“Let’s go see Mommy. ”

Dad gave him a smile. “Okay, kiddo. Give me five minutes to get ready. ”

Bret moved nervously from one foot to the other. He hurried downstairs and turned on all the lights. He snagged his backpack from the mudroom floor and slung it over his back.

True to his word, Dad was down in five minutes, ready to go. They jumped into the Explorer and headed for town.

Bret bounced in his seat all the way to the hospital. Last night he’d dreamed of his mommy for the first time. In his dream, she woke up when he gave her the Mommy Kiss. That’s what she’d been waiting for, all this time. The Mommy Kiss.

At the hospital, he held Daddy’s hand and dragged him down the hallway to her room. But at the closed door, Bret felt all of his confidence disappear. Suddenly he was afraid.

“It’s okay, Bretster. Remember, it’s okay to be sad. She’ll understand that. Just talk to her. ”

Bret pushed through the door. The first thing he saw was the baby bed, with the silver side rails. Not a grown-up bed at all. There were no lights on; the room was painted in dull gray shadows.

And there was Mommy, lying in the bed. Slowly he moved toward her.