There honestly isn't much to say about my youngest daughter.
That's not to say Cortana wasn't a good kid. She was. She just didn't really talk much. Not to mention she was painfully shy.
She never said what was on her mind. Whenever we asked her how school was, she'd give a one-word answer and then hide in her room.
Usually, she only came out to use the bathroom or when it was dinnertime. Other than that, she'd always hide away.It was almost like I was living with some kind of ghost. But then, her siblings had all left home, and her parents were aging quickly.
Maybe it could've been she didn't have anyone to talk to. Her main confidante had moved out just a little while ago, and she probably missed him.
There was only one other thing she came out of her room for, besides school or family time.
She always held this quiet, shy demeanor, even as she was making her birthday wish, so imagine my surprise when she said what she was going to do in life.
My youngest child didn't want to have kids, or even to get married. She wanted to go into the military.
I actually never imagined that Cortana would ever want to have that kind of job. I was worried my little girl would get destroyed by all those big tough guys.
But she told me not to worry. She said she knew how to handle those kinds of people. Said, she had to, seeing as she was raised by a couple of tough men.
The last I saw her was when she came for a visit, driving up in a camo truck she apparently got recently.
She stopped wearing ponytails, and basically just showed that she could take care of herself. She was still a bit of a shy one, but she definitely had more confidence.
She got along with the guys she worked with, too. Which made me and Shark happy.
But her visiting made me realize how empty the house was now. All our kids had left, so it was just me and Shark.
We didn't stay in that house by ourselves for long. Shark brought it up, some time after Cortana left, that maybe we should move back into one of our old houses.
So we moved back into that house Lolly and Sheldon used to live in. They'd since moved out, since apparently DeAndre's death made it hard for them to live there.
I don't blame them, really. And it wasn't like we were really there that much, anyway. Most of our time was, and still is spent visiting our kids and grandkids.
Kaidan and Lynnette remembered being puzzled by the fact Willie had dark hair. They knew for a fact that he was their biological child, so both of them weren't sure how it happened, seeing as how they were both blonde.
My guess is, it was probably Willie's great-granddad Lenny making himself known after a generation or two. Maybe even reincarnated, in a sense.
Shark really didn't give a rat's ass how his grandson looked. He had a tendency to be cranky whenever we visited anyway. Could be that he didn't want to be reminded that he was getting old.
Or maybe he didn't like me hogging Willie. Who knows.
One visit, he told me he was going somewhere for a little while. When I asked him what he was going to do, all he said was that he had to go do something.
Apparently, seeing me get old reminded him of someone else who was probably old as well. Shark said he was going to go see him, to find out.
Seems he was proven right.
Goodwin hadn't aged too well. He used to be this kind, happy person. But by the time Shark went to see him, he had gotten old, and sad.
The years had not been kind to him. Amy had since died, Lynnette was always too busy to see him, he had yet to meet his only grandchild, and he rarely got visitors anymore.
When he was younger, he had only wanted to help others. But in the end, he'd been forgotten by virtually everyone. Life just...turned him into some kind of plaything.
Shark told me he didn't speak very much, just mostly shrugged and grunted. One of the few times he did speak, Goodwin stated he couldn't believe he was going to die alone.
Shark told him that he wasn't gonna let that happen.
When they got back, Goodwin was introduced to Willie, and then after we were done visiting, we went to see Bill and Julienne.
Apparently, Shark wanted him to meet someone. A lady who could keep an eye on him until the day he died.
Shark got the idea that maybe, Goodwin could make a new friend, and Mina could take care of him until his day came.
The both of them hit it off, and became really good friends.
Goodwin practically regaled her with stories of when he was on the police force. She enjoyed listening to every one he told her.
Well, he never did tell her about the Rackets, but maybe that was because Wilhelmina didn't really need to know that. Or perhaps she already knew, seeing as how she lived with Bill for a few years.
Either way, Goodwin was happy to meet someone new, and by the end of the day, Mina had moved in with him.
She took my old room, of course. In all the years I'd been gone, Goodwin barely went in there. He might've cleaned and dusted it once in a while, but that was really about it.
They're still living there to this day. Mina always tells us how he's doing, and Goodwin always has another story to tell her.
Funny how a guy I used to hate more than anything, became someone I cared about in the end. If he's going to die, I at least want him to die happy.
And when he does finally leave this life, hopefully he'll be reunited with both Amy, his wife, and Jenni, the mother of his child. He did care deeply about both of them.
Goodwin's a nice guy, he just got picked on by the universe a few too many times, at least part of which was my own fault.
Both women were important to him. He should at least get to see them when he joins them in the afterlife.
It'll probably a real mess at first, but hopefully he'll get it all straightened out. He's a decent guy, he deserves to go somewhere great.
Just like the next few people who had to go...
(A/N: End of Chapter 7, Part 1.)
Ooh, Cortana's a brave girl! Going into the military! Sinbad is so nice to Goodwin.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Goodwin gets some sort of happy ending. :)
ReplyDelete