AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He loved his family. He was abnormally good at Ping-Pong…and beer pong.
I looked down at Arielle as I listened to the pastor read the story of Henry’s life that Trevor had written. It was full of facts. The day he was born, the day he’d moved into Ellie and Mike’s, when he’d graduated high school, his military accomplishments.
My face felt numb.
Arielle woke up and kicked her feet as Trevor and Shane stood up at the end of the aisle, stepping toward the podium at the front of the church. “Shh,” I whispered, unwrapping Arie as she pushed at her blanket. “Gotta be quiet, Uncle Trev and Uncle Shane are talking.”
“Thank you for coming.” Trev’s deep voice flowed through the church’s sound system. “My little brother would really like that his funeral was standing room only.”
The crowded church broke out in quiet laughs.
“He’d never let us hear the end of it,” Trev said with a smile, leaning toward the small microphone in front of him. His voice cracked a little, and he reached up to rub a hand over his face as Shane stepped closer to him.
“Henry was annoying,” he said, making the church laugh. “Funny, and charming…and annoying.” They laughed a little louder.
Liz reached out and rested her hand on my knee as Trevor continued, and we listened to how Trevor remembered his little brother.
The rest of the funeral went by quickly, classmates and a few of Henry’s Marine friends that had flown in for the funeral got up and shared little stories about Hen. Most of them were funny, some were poignant, all were welcome. I didn’t get up to speak. I didn’t think that I’d be able to do it without making an ass out of myself.
Then all too soon we were on our way to the military cemetery a half an hour away. When Mike and Ellie had found out about Henry, they’d immediately found a spot for him, and since Mike was a Marine veteran, bought the plot next to him, too.
The Patriot Guard escorted us there. It was sweet of them to do, even though Henry’s death wasn’t exactly high profile. I couldn’t imagine anyone giving us any trouble that they’d have to guard us from, but according to Bram, it was more of a respect thing. Either way, it was pretty incredible to watch.
The Marines kind of took over the ceremony as soon as we got there, and I knew it was a relief for Ellie. She didn’t have to worry about any of it. She could sit there numbly while the cemetery director and honor guard took care of everything.
They played Taps and folded the flag draped over Henry’s casket in quick, precise movements. Then one of the Marines moved to Ellie, dropping to one knee and murmuring to her as he handed her the flag with both hands.
Bram took Arielle from my arms, and I watched in confusion as he braced her head against his chest, covering the opposite side with his wide palm.
I jerked at the first gunshot.
Then I closed my eyes as the other two rang through the quiet afternoon.
“Thanks,” I whispered, leaning against Bram’s shoulder.
“Didn’t want it to hurt her ears,” he replied.
I nodded, my chest tightening.
Then, all of a sudden, it was over, and we were just supposed to leave him there alone.
* * *
“I’m glad it’s over,” Katie said quietly, dropping down beside me on the couch as I fed Arielle.
The last person had finally left Mike and Ellie’s house just fifteen minutes before. The funeral had gone well, as far as funerals went, but it had hurt. Bad. It had felt so wrong to leave Henry at the cemetery. I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t Henry anymore. That it was just the shell of him, not the boy I’d watched grow up—but it didn’t matter. He was there in the cold ground, and I was afraid that, if I thought about it too long, I would start screaming.
None of us had been able to leave right away, and eventually, Dan and Liz herded the kids back into the cars and brought them home while the rest of us watched as the cemetery crew used a small tractor to fill in Henry’s grave.
We’d eventually moved away, but Trevor had said he’d be a few more minutes.
He still wasn’t back.
“When does Shane have to leave?” I asked Kate, pulling the bottle from Arielle’s slack mouth.
“He flies back with us tomorrow,” she said, reaching out to take Arielle from me, then cuddling my girl to her chest as she started patting her back gently. “Then he’ll leave the next day.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer?” I asked, turning toward her on the couch. “Since Shane is leaving anyway, you could—”
“No,” Kate said, cutting me off with a small shake of her head. “I’d love to stay for a while, but the kids need to be home.” She gave me a sad smile. “They need to be in their own house and going through their own routines. The little ones will snap back, but Keller, Gavin, and Sage are having a hard time.”
