Mattie Mae Thomas - Dessie (great reads txt) 📗

on her first date. She caught him watching them at the movie theater. Mattie wouldn’t talk to him all the next day. On and on it went. She watched flashes of memories. Always she was on the opposite side, across the road or isle, never with them and unable to get across. As time went on, you could tell Mark was distracted. He looked around him searching for something. A couple of times he even took at her, as if he could see her. Then Brie started to hear it too. A child’s giggle, a man’s laughter, it was the home movies.
For hours, Brie stood with Mark. Dr. Lowe set the DVD on auto replay. The readout on Mark was showing brain activity, yet he never moved. The movie played through again. Trying to ward off sleep, the doctor stood up to move around. That is when he saw it. Mark move it hand. He stared at it for a long time, willing him to move again. Just as he was about to give up, he moved again. He looked at Brie. The young woman stood with her hands on Marks shoulders. She hadn’t moved in hours. What was she seeing? He sat back down to wait. Then he saw Mark’s foot move. He checked the read out again, then started to pace.
Brie had no knowledge of the passing of time. She was too busy trying to find a way across the barrier the separated her from Mark. He knew she was there now. Mattie would look up and try to way her over. Each time she tried and each time she failed. Then came the day of the accident, the twins were walking down main street. Boaters were everywhere. It was a beautiful day. Brie waved franticly at Mattie across the street, trying to get her attention, trying to ask for help across.
Mark and Brie had the doctor’s full attention now. Brie still had not moved but now her hands were glowing and a sweat had broke out across her face. Mark’s hands and feet were constantly twitching; his eyes were blinking as if he was in the REM stage of sleep. He looked to the window. It was just after dawn. Bob and Grace would be up by now.
No matter how hard she tried neither Mattie or Mark would look her way. Mattie was trying to talk to Mark. He would listen for a few seconds but then he would hear the child laugh again. Every time Mattie Mae would laugh on the video, he would turn to search for her. They were almost at McDonalds now. Brie could see a younger Bob and Grace setting at the picnic table there. Just them Mattie Mae gave a high pitched squeal of laughter. Mark turned to look behind him. He didn’t see the boat coming their way but Mattie did. She shoved Mark into the bushes, taking the hit. Mark wasn’t on the ground for long. Before the boat could come to a rest he was on his feet running.
“Mattie! Mattie…”his scream echoed across her mind as the scene changed for Brie.
They were in the grave yard. Mark set by Mattie’s headstone. Only, he was older now. He looked like the Mark of today, not the Mark of memories. It was very quiet here. You could no longer hear the sound of the video playing in the background.
“Mark? Mark, can you hear me?” Brie asks softly.
He lay back on the headstone with his hands behind his head. “It’s beautiful here isn’t it?” He turned his head to look at Brie. “I have seen you before. What’s your name?”
“I’m Brie.” She replied, trying to step closer, only to be held back an unseen force.
“Did you hear that child laughing before?” he asks with a puzzled look on his face. “Who was it?”
“That was Mattie Mae.” She said as she tried to step forward again. The barrier was weaker now. “She is your daughter.” She took another step. Remind him of Mattie Mae, she thought. That was the key. “She is at home waiting on you.” Brie had reached his side now. She sat down beside him.
“I don’t have a daughter.”He sounded very confused.
“Yes, you do. She is at home with your parents. She is waiting for you. You have to go back. You don’t belong here.” Brie tried to reason with him.
“What are you talking about?” he said angrily. “This is where I belong. Everyone I love gets hurt because of me. I should have been here first instead of Mattie. Now she can go back and no one will be hurt.”
“You’re wrong Mark. What about Mattie Mae? If you were here, then how was she ever born?” Brie closed her eyes. Mattie, please help me, she prayed.
“She is right, Mark.” Mattie was there beside them.
“Mattie, what are you still doing here?” Mark set up to take his sister’s hand.
“This is where is I should be. You have to go home.” She reasoned with him. “Mattie Mae needs you.”
“Mattie Mae? My daughter?” his face began to clear. “My daughter, she looks just like you.”
Mattie smiled, “That’s right. My time was over Mark. It wasn’t your fault. I did my job. Now it is time to do yours. It’s not over. There are still people there that need you. You have many years yet before you can come here.”
“But Mattie, I am here now. You could go back.” He tried again.
“No I couldn’t. I can never go back. But you have to.”
“Are you really happy?” he asked. “I would trade placed with you if I could.”
“I know, brother. And knowing you love me is enough. Many years from now, when it is your time, I will be waiting here for you. But for now, you have to let Brie take you back.” She took Mark’s hand and placed it in Brie’s. “I will always love you. And you had better be good, I will be checking in on you from time to time.”
Beep. Beep. Beep. Brie looked down at her watch in confusion. She forgot she has set it for church. She looked over at Mattie who said with a smile, “That’s your cue.” With her hand in Mark’s, the grave yard started to fade.
Brie looked around her and blinked. She was in the hospital room. Only, to her surprise, Dr. Lowe and Mark were not the only ones there. Mattie Mae set on the edge of the bed and Grace and Bob were standing beside her.
“Brie, is Daddy going to wake up now?” Mattie Mae looked at here with hopeful eyes.
“Just talk to him, Peanut. He needs to hear your voice.” Brie said as she walked around to the foot of the bed to give the Thomas’ more room.
“Daddy can you hear me? Daddy wake up and talk to me. Please Daddy, just talk to me.” Mattie Mae was crying now.
“Don’t you cry Peanut. Daddy is here.” Mark’s voice was raspy from lack of use.
“Thank the lord.”
“Praise the Saints, she did it!”
“Daddy!”
Everyone was talking at once. Mark was back. Brie smiled and just whispered, “Thank you, Mattie.” Then she slipped out of the room.
***


It was three full days before Dr. Lowe would let Mark leave the hospital. He wanted to run test to make sure he was alright. Even then he has a very short list of what he could do and a very, very long list of what he couldn’t do. Either way he didn’t care. It was good to be home. Mattie Mae was never far from his side. She waited on him and foot. So a week later when he woke from his nap, he was worried when he couldn’t find her.
“Mom, have you seen Peanut?” he asked Grace as he entered the kitchen.
“Yes dear. She is out at the grave yard with Brie.”
“The infamous Brie, maybe now I will finally get to meet her.” He put on his ball cap and headed out the door.
“Tell the girls that lunch is almost ready, don’t stay long it is almost time to eat.” Grace called after him.
When he entered the stand of trees surrounding the grave yard, he didn’t see Mattie Mae. He went to Mattie’s grave to wait. Looking down at the stone he realized that this was the first time he had come here and not felt the guilt of being alive. “I understand now Mattie. You don’t have to worry about me. I will get it right this time.”
“Get what right, Daddy?” Mattie Mae asked from behind him.
He turned to answer her but forgot what he was going to say. Standing beside Mattie Mae was his angel. He had seen her in his dream.
“I’m Brie.” She said. “It’s finally nice to meet you.”
He looked at her so long that Brie started to blush. Unbelievable, he thought. She is ever prettier with the rosy color in her checks.
In the distance, you could hear Grace calling them for lunch. “Come on, you guys. I am starving.” Mattie said as she pulled both their hands.
With a smile to each other, they followed her across the field. Half way to the house she stopped. “I forgot my locket. Wait for me. I will be right back.” She ran all the way back and fell to her knees. “Ok, Aunt Mattie. I’m counting on you. In my dream, Brie was my new mom and I had two baby brothers. That’s not too much to ask for, is it? Brie is very special. I can tell she really like my dad.”
“Mattie, are you coming?” She heard her dad yell.
Grabbing the locket, she kissed it and put it back on her neck. “Bye, Aunt Mattie. I will talk to you later.”

Exactly one year to the day, Mattie Mae was leading her new family across the field to introduce her two baby brothers to their Aunt Mattie. They had to move slow, because Brie, she could call her Mom now, was still recovering from giving birth to Matthew and Luke.