AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Our loss. I knew he was as much a father to you as he was to Samuel.”
On cue, Sam walked from behind his mother and nodded his greeting to me. Once again, the air was charged as I looked into his deep brown eyes, feeling myself absorbed by his sight alone. It wasn’t until Kelly cleared her throat next to me that I realized we had just been standing there staring at one another.
“I’m so sorry, Sam.”
“So am I. But as mom said, it’s great to see you again. Even if it’s in this circumstance…”
Death.
“Are you planning to stay in town long?” Maya asked.
I nodded shyly, “I took some time off from work to spend time here and catch up with Kelly and the both of you. I just want you to know if there’s anything I can do…”
Maya clapped her hands, “You can come around anytime you want. You’re a member of our family. I’m just happy to have you here.”
Kelly’s phone started ringing. She moved off to the side to answer it, leaving me alone with the Banks. His mother looked like she’d aged a decade just from her husband’s death while I could tell that Samuel was concealing his emotions. Masking them for the benefit of his mom. He always wanted to be strong for her, just as he was strong for me.
“Aria, we had better get going. Harry burned his hand on the stove, and I need to get home. Thank you for inviting us, Maya. It was a beautiful ceremony for a wonderful man.”
We said our goodbyes to Maya. Kelly waved to Sam as she turned, giving me just a few seconds to talk to him in private. Before I could even say anything, he stepped forward.
“We really must catch up before you go again. I’ll let you know.”
I nodded, “I look forward to it.”
Following Kelly back to the church, we jumped into the waiting cab. After shutting the door, I looked out the window at the two figures standing by the grave, clutching onto one another like lost buoys in an ocean of loss. It pained me to know that one day soon, I would be standing at my own father’s grave.
Death.
