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“Exactly how you would expect it to be. Liam withdrew from everything, and Jenny cried. Logan tried to stay strong, but the second they left the room, he crumpled. He’s holding on to a lot of guilt. But he has these small moments of happiness that ease my worry slightly. It’s going to be a long road for him, but he’ll get through it.”
Lucy’s lips pull into a smile, and she gives me a look that suggests she knows something I don’t. It’s unnerving.
“If Logan calls you first, which is highly likely, will you ask him to call me?” she says, with an innocent expression.
My brows furrow in question, but I say yes. Of course, I can do that.But what’s she hiding?
For the next few days, I don’t see Logan, but we message back and forth, mainly with me checking in on him and Liam. When the day of the funeral arrives, I’m a frazzled mess. I want to be there for everyone, especially Liam, but I don’t really know what’s expected of me and how I can help. Plus, I wasn’t exactly their dad’s biggest fan. Quite the opposite, in fact.
So, do I stand in the back and just be there as support, or do I stand with Liam? Or does Logan need or want me with him? Or am I reading too much into it all?
Pulling on a pair of black cigarette pants and a light gray blouse, I tie my hair back in a bun and grab my prescription sunglasses in case I need them. Today is not a day for contacts, that’s for sure.
When I arrive, Lucy immediately wraps me in a hug and holds on tight. “How are you holding up? Funerals are difficult at the best of times, but—”
“Oh, I’m fine. But thank you for worrying.”
I have no doubt she was about to mention Eric. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that I was in this very church for him, but I haven’t actually thought about that until now, my present concerns taking over my mind.
Dylan’s the next to come over, and before long, I’m surrounded by everyone I met at Lucy’s Friendsgiving and feeling just as I did back then. A mix of awkward and comfortable. It's a strange feeling.
“It’s good to see you, Dani,” Dylan says, wrapping me in a side hug. “Summer tells me you and Logan are—Jesus! What the hell was that for?”
Dylan holds his side where Summer just elbowed him, and even though what he was alluding to makes me nervous, I can’t help but laugh at the relationship these two have.
“Logan and I have become friends, yes. And we share a family member. Liam’s my nephew.”
Dylan smiles. “I heard that too. Liam’s a great kid. I’ve only met him a couple of times, but he lights up a room, that’s for sure.
My eyes find Liam in the distance, and I smile. “That he does.”
Even now, when he’s going through so much, he has a little grin on his face as he talks to Jenny and an older couple that I think are Jenny’s parents, going by the similarities between them.
When Logan joins his mother’s side, my chest tightens. He’s trying to smile, but I can see from here that it’s forced. It barely reaches his cheeks, let alone his eyes.
“It’s almost time to head inside. I’m going to stand with Logan,” Summer says before giving Dylan a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll meet you back out here at the end.”
She then turns to me, linking her arm through mine and pulling me along with her. “Come on, we can walk over together.”Guess I’m sitting with the family.
Logan’s eyes light up when he sees us, and his smile rises slightly. Breaking away from his family, he walks over and gives Summer a kiss on the cheek, but when it comes to me, his lips meet the corner of my mouth, and a spark runs through me.Now is not the time for feelings.
“Thank you both for coming,” he says with a nod as Jenny and Liam move to join us.
“You say that like I’d ever consider not being here for you,” Summer says as I smile beside her.
“Well, thank you anyway. You too, Dani.”
“Of course. I wanted to be here in case Liam”—or you—“needed me.”
“Right, of course.”
Liam clasps my hand at that moment and stays by my side until the end of the burial when everyone starts to depart. And as I walk to my car alone, I think about how loved this man was, even if I personally didn’t like him. It was a beautiful service, with so many kind words. It’s hard to believe the man we buried today is the same man that cheated on his wife with someone half his age. But it is, and it’s something I probably need to get over. After all, maybe she seduced him?
When I arrive at the wake, I find Liam straight away, making sure that he’s okay, and this timeIdon’t leavehisside. I have vague memories of my dad’s wake, and I would have done anything to have someone there with me the entire time.
Just like the funeral itself, we sit through more happy stories about the wonderful man they all knew and how blessed they are to have had him in their life, and I wish I felt the same. I wish I could smile and genuinely mean it, but I can’t.
Although, when I look at my beautiful nephew, I feel torn, because I’m so grateful to have him in my life.
