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Lorraine and her husband, Kenny, had arrived early on Christmas Eve Noo o&039;clock, and Rosalie was busy in the kitchen with her daughters, getting everything ready for dinner that evening Richard and Ken sat with Harry in the faarandchildren would come later that afternoon

This was all the Christrandchildren close, he was at peace

Rising from his chair was difficult, and eroped for the walker

"You need any help with that, Dad?" Richard asked

"No, I&039;m fine A little slow, but fine" A bit wobbly on his feet, he glanced over at the two hters He loved them as much as he did Lorraine and Donna They were the sons he&039;d never had It was through their children that Harry and Rosalie would live on

"Where are you going, Dad?" Lorraine asked, stepping out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel Harry didn&039;t knohat they were cooking in there, but it sure sht I&039;d rest for a while before dinner"

She put her arm around his waist and walked him down the hallway to the e of his bed and Lorraine placed the walker where he could reach it once he awoke

"I&039;rateful to have this hter

"What is it, Dad?" She sat on the bed beside hione, I&039;ll need you to look after your mother You and Donna"

"You knoill" Tears filled her eyes

Harry took her hand and squeezed it "I don&039;t want there to be tears when I pass, understand?"

"Oh, Dad, of course there&039;ll be tears You have no idea how much you&039;re loved You&039;re the very heart of our fa their sadness couldn&039;t be avoided Death for hi "Donna will be here to help your mother with the move"

"Kenny and I plan to come, as well"

"Thank you" Harry wasn&039;t sure he&039;d still be around by then But everything had been set in ht him a sense of peace "I think I&039;d better rest for a while"

"Good idea" When he lay down on the quilt, she kissed hied his pillows

He&039;d just closed his eyes when Rosalie ca, sweetheart?" she asked

"I&039;han at the foot of the bed and covered hiently "Rest now, and I&039;ll wake you in time for dinner"

Harry nodded, and then, as his wife of sixty-six years was about to leave the room, he reached for her hand

Rosalie turned back expectantly

"I&039;ve always loved you, my Rose"

She smiled softly "I know, Harry And you&039;re the love of my life"

"This life and the next"

Rosalie bent down to kiss his cheek, and Harry closed his eyes

"Harry," Mercy whispered

Harry Alderwood&039;s eyes flickered open and he stared at her in astonishment "Am I dead? In Heaven?"

Mercy nodded "Look," she said, with a gesture that swept from his head to his feet "You&039;re not old anyain"

"Rosalie?"

"You&039;ll see her soon," Mercy pro woo"

"I saw you before," Harry said, pointing at Mercy "That night I forgot my walker"

Mercy smiled "That was me"

"You helped me, and I&039;m most appreciative"

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy surrounded Harry "Come with us," Mercy said "Your parents and your brother are waiting for you"

"Mom and Dad?" he asked excitedly "And Ted, too?"

Mercy s for your arrival We&039;re celebrating Christ like it is on Earth"

Gabriel appeared before the and handsome, nodded

"Welcome to Paradise," Gabriel said "I&039;ll take over froel looked at the three Prayer A you shortly"

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy stood in the choir loft at Leavenworth First Christian Church for the seven o&039;clock Christmas Eve service Once they were finished here, they&039;d join Beth and her faan ht," Goodness leaned over to her friends "Just wait until these humans hear the music in Heaven Boy, are they in for a surprise"

"Like Harry," Mercy said She&039;d served God as a Prayer A before now Watching as the frail body of Harry Alderas transfor experience His spirit had been set free fro heart, free from his pain and free froreed, suddenly standing beside them He focused his attention on Mercy "You did well"

"Thank you," she said hulad I was there to escort hi?" Mercy asked, concerned for Rosalie and Harry&039;s daughters She couldn&039;t iine what it must&039;ve been like for Rosalie to come into the bedroom and find that her husband had died in his sleep

"It&039;s never easy for those on Earth to lose a loved one," Gabriel told them

"They don&039;t understand, do they?"

"Not yet," Gabriel said "For now, they&039;re looking through a dilass Soon, each one will know, each one will have his or her own experience and understand that death is not just an end but a beginning A true beginning"