CAROLINE'S POV
This year Easter and the anniversary of my dad's passing fell on the same day. Nashville was sunny and warm on the morning of Easter as I sat down in a pew of a local church. I had wanted to go to church this morning because my dad and I used to go to church every Sunday and the least I could do to honor him today would be to go to the Easter Sunday service.
Taylor had agreed to go with me and Karlie and Andrea were spending Easter with us so they were here too. Taylor's dad and brother were on a boys trip for the holiday, so it was just going to be the girls here in Nashville. As the four of us were all seated in our pew we got a lot of stares from the rest of the congregation. Going normal places with Taylor wasn't normal, and I'd learned that. But soon enough, the other churchgoers were distracted by the pastor coming in and beginning the service.
As hard as I tried to listen throughout the service my mind kept wandering back to my dad. It had been three years today since he died and I hadn't seen him in person for nearly four, but because I got his 'if you're reading this' letter earlier this year, I felt like it hadn't been so long.
For the last two years the anniversary of his passing had been tough, I'd had breakdowns and anxiety attacks. But now, I felt as though I had closure. It still hurt that he was gone. I had turned 18 a few weeks ago and it hurt that he wasn't there with me to celebrate. But still, finally being able to smile when I thought of him was a huge step for me.
As the pastor gave his sermon about how much Jesus sacrificed for us, I couldn't help but relate it back to my family. Taylor loved me so much that she was willing to take me in full time after my dad died. I would never be able to thank her enough for that.
Soon enough, the congregation was filling out of the church and out to their cars in the parking lot. We didn't stay for much small talk, we headed out so we could get back home and eat the meal that was waiting for us.
"I don't know about you guys but I'm starving." Taylor said from the drivers seat of her car as we pulled out of the parking lot. Andrea, who was sitting beside me in the back seat, pulled a plastic pink Easter egg out of her purse and opened it up from the middle to reveal a mini chocolate bar. She handed it up to Taylor as Karlie messed with the radio from the passenger's seat.
"Mom, why did you have this?" Taylor laughed opening the candy bar. Karlie and I laughed too after noticing how weird it was.
"I don't know, it's Easter." Andrea shrugged, stuffing the plastic egg back in her purse.
"It's Easter so you just carry around Easter eggs in your purse?" Taylor asked jokingly.
"Pretty much." Andrea laughed. The four of us joked about this all the way back to our apartment.
Compared to the warm outside air, the air conditioned apartment was chilly. My skin not covered by my dress soon got goosebumps. As Karlie, Taylor, and Andrea took the ham out of the oven and started preparing lunch I went up to my room to change out of my church clothes. I put on shorts and a t-shirt, knowing that today would be low-key and Taylor wouldn't care what I was wearing.
Because the apartment was so cold, I decided to throw on a sweatshirt too. Just as I was reaching into my closet to pull out my new Vanderbilt sweatshirt, something caught my eye. It was a framed picture of my dad that was hanging on the wall. I passed it by every day, but I didn't usually take a good look at it.
As I looked at his caramel eyes that so closely resembled mine, my stomach flipped. In the picture he was wearing a gray Army sweatshirt. It said 'Connor' on the back. The only reason I knew that was because his old Army sweatshirt had been in my possession for years and I used to wear it all the time.
