“I’ll Take You to See the Ocean” by Chantal Bellehumeur
About the Book:
In this Heartwarming fictional story, Caroline fulfils her five year old son's wish to see the ocean by taking him on a cruise to the Magdalen Islands.
Excerpt:
Caroline lived with her sweet five year old son James. The boy’s father sadly passed away from cancer at the young age of twenty-four when Caroline was eight months pregnant, so he never got the chance to meet his son or vice versa.
With his thick short brown hair and brown eyes, James was the spitting image of his father. Caroline had long thin blond hair and clear blue eyes, so her son looked nothing like her. She was a short woman, and James was tall for his age. The only thing Caroline and her beloved son had in common as far as physical traits was the fact that they were both thin.
Every time Caroline looked at her son, she saw her late husband Roger. James even started developing some of his father’s mannerisms. Sometimes it made Caroline sad, but she mainly felt happy to know that part of the man she still loved and deeply missed lived in James.
In order for James to get to know his deceased father, Caroline told him nice stories about him. She would often make him select a picture from a shoebox she kept under her queen-sized bed, and tell him what happened in the moments before or after the picture had been taken. Of course, she could only do this with pictures taken during her and Rogers’ six-and-a half year relationship. Her equally widowed mother-in-law was able to provide details of his earlier life. Caroline was glad that she, and most importantly James, got along with her.
James had developed an interest in boats because he had been told that his father had worked on one in his youth. He had actually been a seasonal tour guide on a small sightseeing boat which took tourists on informative hourly tours along the St-Lawrence River. But, James had a big imagination and pictured things much differently. Over the years, he had embellished his father’s role on the boat. He made up adventure stories in which him and his dad sailed the ocean to look for hidden treasures.
Sometimes, Caroline would make up stories of her own while playing with James. But, for the most part she read him fictional books in addition to reciting true tales about his father.
Every night, Caroline and her son would snuggle up together in James' single bed within his small room decorated in a pirate theme, and they would read a book together. James would always hold his favorite plush during story time. In fact, the little brown bear named Captain Rodgers hardly ever left his side. He had made it himself at a workshop during a birthday party the previous year and dressed it in pirate clothing, complete with a black eyepatch his mother made.
Tonight's story was about a group of five animal friends going to a sandy white beach with clear blue water. "I want to see the ocean," James expressed. It wasn't the first time he mentioned this, and Caroline replied the same thing as she always did: "I'll take you to see the ocean one day." James wanted to know when. "Soon," his mother replied with a smile. "Very soon."
When the bedtime story was finished, Caroline tucked in her yawning son as well as Captain Rodgers and gave them both a loud kiss on their right cheeks. James gave his mother a kiss in return. "I love you mommy," James said. "I love you more," his mother replied. "No. I love you more," James returned laughing. They continued telling one another that they loved the other more until Caroline was out of the darkened room and the door was closed.
Book Purchasing Info:
The 44 page book is available to purchase on Amazon as a Kindle or Paperback.
(For those of you who have Kindle unlimited, you can download a copy for FREE.)