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The crowd of attendees grew larger by the moment. A group from George’s old biker club had turned up in force, and the car park at the side of the chapel was full of impressive bikes and classic cars. Many of them knew Rory or informed him they’d heard good things about him. There were neighbors and people who ran local businesses as well as loyal customers who’d been coming to his workshop for years. Sky listened avidly, intrigued by what was being said as they waited for the car to arrive carrying the coffin.
Eventually the hearse pulled into view.
Rory squeezed her hand and stepped away.
At first she didn’t understand why, then she realized he was one of the pallbearers. The coffin was carried out of the church by five of George’s biker friends, and Rory. Rory looked grief stricken taking on the task, but he stood up straight and did the job well.
During the service he kept his head down. She knew he did it so people couldn’t see how upset he was. When she reached out to him, it seemed to make it worse. It made her heart ache.
As they passed out of the church, the clouds finally lifted.
“Call me as soon as you can,” she whispered, as they parted.
He kissed her and left, heading to one of the funeral cars.
I feel his hurt. I hurt so much. I hurt for him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Rory stepped out of the solicitor’s office onto the busy London street and loosened his tie. It was another thing he never thought he’d find himself doing, and certainly not at this point in his life but he’d got through it.
The turn of events had knocked him for six.
Kate, George’s daughter, stepped out behind him and shut the heavy door behind her with a sigh of relief.
She smiled at him. “Thank goodness that’s done.”
It was a relief that she found it stressful too. Perhaps these kind of things always were. Rory had no clue.
She put her arm around his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go and get a nice big glass of wine and have a chat.”
It was scarcely midday, but a drink sounded good. Rory was pretty much in shock after the reading of George’s instructions.
Kate nodded across the street. “There’s always a good wine bar near a solicitor’s office.”
A few minutes later they were sat in a quiet booth with a bottle of Australian Chardonnay in an ice bucket and two big glasses. Rory didn’t think he’d ever drank Chardonnay but when she ordered a bottle he didn’t argue. It actually had quite a pleasant taste, and it did make him feel a bit more relaxed.
Kate was chatty, seemingly relieved now all the business was done. What she wanted was to get home to Australia to her family that was clear.
Rory nodded as she talked about her flight back home. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done this past couple of weeks. You’ve helped things go smoothly with the arrangements.”
“I’ve only done what anyone would do in the circumstances, glad to help. I’ve never done anything like this before, but your dad’s friends were willing to give me advice, and your dad had set things up pretty well.”
“He did, didn’t he?” She smiled wistfully. “Well, you’ve made it a heck of a lot easier for me. I didn’t have to deal with undertakers from across the world.”
Rory took off his tie, folded it and put it in his pocket. “I’m not sure about the will though.”
Kate gave a sad smile. “You mad
e that obvious in the lawyer’s office. Don’t knock it, as far as I’m concerned it works out perfectly. You should have his workshop. It works out much better if you keep it going, and look at it this way, you’ll make a profit and I get a share. That couldn’t be better for me, all I ask is you keep doing what you were doing. He told me you were the best apprentice he ever had, the only one who he could really rely on. If you carry things on the way he set them up, that would be great tribute to him.”
“It just feels wrong. I don’t deserve it.”
“No it isn’t. She smiled. Her eyes were sad, but she smiled. “My dad loved you. We used to talk on Skype once a week and all he talked about was you. I couldn’t believe you’d talked him round about stuff like servicing electric bikes and motocross models.”
Rory laughed. “People were always asking, it was the sensible thing to do, it didn’t have to change the classic core of the business or its trademark look.”
“He was delighted you were able to expand the business, take on those customers.”
