Night is Fallinf; You're not home

I pick up the phone to call one of your friends, then drop it as reality delivers a sucker punch to my heart. You will not come home this night.I listen for your footsteps, knowing I will notr hear them. The door will not slam behind you as your rush into the house with exuberance. Looking for me, so you can tell me of your day.You went through some moody, sad years, as teens do, but this year you came into your own. You grew to like yourself, gained confidence and became even more comical than you were before, if that were possible. Well versed in irony, your humor was a combination of Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball, a mixture of slapstick and sarcasm.You are beautiful and you almost believe it yourself, but not quite. It happened so suddenly I nearly missed the transformation from gangly teenager to lovely young woman.You have fallen in a first love with a nice boy who will carry your picture in his wallet for 24 plus years. Life is so good for you at last. I have never been so proud or so close to you in both our lives. But you will not come home to me this night, my sweet Noelle, except within my dreams.I intened to do this differently, with a dialogue between my workaholic husband and myself, but the tragedies I suffered this past weekend turned me in this direction. I had no choice but ot go with it - the muse always gets his way.