Page 79 of To the Moon and Back
“It’s just earth. I think that’s the point.” Ashley didn’t want to talk longer than he was willing to listen. She tried not to be wordy. “See, all of us deserve.”
“Ashley . . .” He sounded tired. “I know this.”
“Okay.” She leaned against the rail, her eyes still on the sky. “I guess all I’m saying is that this isn’t the end. Every one of us will die.” She was careful not to rush her words. Not to sound forceful. “Jesus offers us a life rope out of this place. Because as great as it is . . . it’s not heaven.”
Another pause. “Thank you, Ashley. Really.” He was only putting up with her. She could tell. “I gotta go.”
One more thing. That’s all she wanted to tell him. “You can see your mother again. If you believe Jesus died for your sins, if you accept that gift, you will join her in heaven.” She hesitated. “Just think about that. And know this, Brady. I’m praying for you. That God will show you somehow.”
Silence.
Ashley looked at the phone, to be sure he was still on the call. “Brady?”
“You think . . .” His voice was more emotional. “You think she’s in heaven? You believe that?”
“Absolutely.” Ashley felt a ripple of hope. Finally, he was hearing her.
Brady was quiet again. When he spoke, his words were softer. “I need to go, but thanks.” He hesitated. “Really.”
She offered to talk to him again, if he needed anything. He seemed genuinely grateful, and then the call was over. Ashley stared at the phone. The whole conversation had lasted just under eight minutes.
Was it enough to make a difference?
Ashley wasn’t sure. But there was one thing she could do, whether he called her again or not.
She could pray.
• • •
BRADY DIDN’T WORK that Sunday. He had planned to go to the river with a few buddies from the station. But ever since the call from Ashley, all he could do was think about what she’d said.
The only way to see his mom again was to believe. Believe in the very God who had taken her from him. His thoughts battled and fought for position in his aching heart until all he could do was deal with them.
And there was only one place he could do that.
He arrived at the memorial an hour after it opened. This time it was more crowded, not that it mattered. Brady didn’t see the people around him, didn’t hear their voices. Sunglasses on, he walked to the bench where he and Jenna had sat two days earlier. The place where she had told him why she couldn’t stay. Why it wouldn’t work between them.
Brady sat, and for the longest time, he only stared at the wall and the time stamp six feet high, engraved at the top.
9:03.
Jenna had found her way there, found a way to believe in God and move forward in her healing. She was a true survivor. No doubt. Ashley’s words came back to him. If he believed, he would see his mother again. In heaven.
He was contemplating it all when a tall blond guy walked up and sat on the other side of the bench. “Serene, isn’t it?”
Brady was confused. Had he looked like he wanted company? He nodded. “Definitely.”
The guy held out his hand. “I’m Jag. Good to see you again.”
“Brady.” The sun was bright on their faces, so Brady kept his sunglasses on. The stranger wore none. Even so, the sun didn’t seem to bother him. He wasn’t even squinting. “Have . . . we met?”
“A long time ago.” Jag smiled. “You were five. And one other time not too long ago.”
“Okay.” He had no memory of the man. But something about him was familiar. Brady could see that now. Was he part of the club? “Why are you here?”
Jag stared at the wall across from the reflecting pool. “Do you know the motto of the memorial?”
“The motto?” Brady sat up straighter. Who was this guy?
