As the car rolled into the funeral home’s parking lot, they all could see the turnout for Emily’s life celebration. People stood outside and waited around for the service to begin. Cherish held her breath while Simon Sr. drove around the back of the building; followed by his wife. There were so many cars and people that Cherish suddenly felt out of place. She held back as they got the babies out and watched as the family slowly made their way towards the large archway where the hearse was parked.
The moment they stepped inside of the main lobby, all eyes turned to face them. Simon was met with distant family members, Emily’s childhood friends, mutual friends, and colleagues they worked with. Within moments they were flocked with hugs, sympathy, and various stages of grief. Simon reciprocated their words and kind gestures but, on his end, it was empty. There wasn’t a word they could say or a hug they could give would comfort him. Nothing took away the fact that his wife laid dead, on her final bed, in the other room. The following comments about Jr. and how he favored Emily only drove Simon’s grief deeper. He glanced down at his son in the stroller and clenched his jaw. He was sweet, Simon could see the slight traces of Emily, and he was none the wiser to the attention he received.
Holding Jasmine close, Cherish waited a bit before she walked further around the entrance to where other guests loitered about. Silently, she waited her turn in line to sign the guest book with their names, before she went to a lone chair in the corner and sat.
After greeting the people who reached out to him, Simon glanced over his shoulder and looked for Cherish. He thought she was right beside him but couldn’t see her. She’d been such good support the past few days that he felt tense without her presence. Not wanting to draw attention, he wandered close towards the table displaying a collage of Emily.
There were pictures from a baby to a child with her parents at Christmas, a teenager with her best friends, going through school, prom, a young woman with her first car, diploma, and then his wife. The pictures of when they were dating and carefree. His eyes slowly drifted down towards their wedding day, their first house together, and lastly their pregnancy with Jr. All the sadness in the world churned through him.
He missed her. Too much for words.
Taking off his glasses, he wiped his sleeve against his eyes repeatedly, but they never dried. He opened his mouth and tried to say how he felt, but choked, and nothing came out.
Margaret looked around at all of the guests with a pained smile while Miriam clenched her hands into fists. Margaret placed a hand on Simon’s back looking to him, “Are you ready to go in?” she asked. Simon heaved to catch his breath before nodding, not because he was ready, but he didn’t want to make Emily wait for him any longer. In his mind, she expected him one final time.
Margaret looked up at her son with tears in her eyes and reassuredly nodded. She took a strong grip of his hand while she left her husband with their grandchild. Jack held onto his wife who’d already begun to moan. She was about to see her daughter for the first and last time. Looking over them, Margaret felt her stomach drop as she began to lead her son through the large double doors. Cherish watched after them from afar before she lowered her head and tears dripped onto Jasmine’s blanket.
Emily’s glossy, white coffin was perched upon the stand. There were purple, white, and blue candles held in candelabras surrounding her. Bright purple flowers, of different hues and shades, adorned her casket. And in the center of it all, was Emily fast asleep and dressed in a white, lace dress she loved to wear on date nights with him. Striking Margaret deeply in the chest, she pressed her wrist against her lips and nose. Shutting her eyes, she stifled a sob and wrapped her arm around Simon’s.
It was surreal.
Unable to see her yet, Simon knew she was there. As they approached, she came into view, made up differently than he remembered without care. Miriam’s cries amplified the moment she caught sight of her daughter, “No. No. No.” she whined. She broke down in that moment which only radiated through the people in the room, “Not my baby. Not my baby.” The impact for Simon wasn’t as hard since he’d already seen her, but her mother’s cries hurt him deeply.
the director stood in the doorway and calmly ordered people to join them within, “Would the extended family please sit in the first three pews. We’re about to begin.”
Sitting down between his parents, Simon placed his face into his hands and tried to hold himself together. Cherish looked around as everyone crowded the doors for a seat. Standing at the end, she brought Jasmine close to her frame and entered the crowded room. There she was, laying there, not quite as remembered. Still, Emily took Cherish’s breath away and a weight pitted in her stomach. Sitting in the last row, she couldn’t see very much but she listened all the same.
A pastor from Miriam and Jack’s church had flown in for the occasion. He took a stand at the microphone and began to read prayers before speaking about Emily’s life, “We are here to celebrate the life of Emily Priscilla Gabot. A perfect daughter, devoted wife, and a loving mother. Sadly, God has taken her home far too soon, but fear not for he has taken her to his paradise to walk in the sunlight with him until her loved ones may join her.” He said.
Continuing the traditional words of comfort and prayer, he
