Chapter 86

Charlotte

Much has been said about my parents and their love story. All of it is true. They were ridiculously and madly in love until the day they died. Knowing them, they are probably still ridiculously and madly in love in death.

They were wonderful role models for how to properly treat someone you love. They teased each other gently, and my father often tickled my mother when he felt she was getting too serious or worked up. They laughed a lot, and they kissed a lot, and they hugged a lot. They treated each other with respect even when they didn't agree, which was not often.

They spread that unconditional love to their children - all six of us. Seven, if you count Sawyer, which I know they always did. I still care for Sawyer's memorial. We all know the story of how and why Sawyer died. Most of us were alive - though small - when it happened. My oldest brother and sister remember Mama coming home that day, riding with Papa on his horse, looking confused. Papa said then that she