She attempted to smooth out her hair thinking that it was probably all over her head. It hadn’t seen a scarf or a curling iron in a couple of days. “I invited myself on this trip remember? So, don’t go blaming yourself because I feel a little worse for wear. It’s probably not nerves. More than likely, I caught a bug traveling in-between both countries.”
He ran his hands down her thigh in an attempt to offer comfort. “When we get home, you should probably get checked out.”
She nodded no longer able to look him in the eyes. “That’s a good idea.”
Once the plane landed, Braylee and Cecily piled into the car. Just as Alex was about to get inside, his cell phone rang. He answered. “Hello.” Then, dropped his head low as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
Braylee turned to see his face. She couldn’t make out his expression but mouthed the words “What happened? Who is that?” before he’d hung up.
Alex ended the call and put his cell phone back into the inner pocket of his jacket. He was silent until he got into the car. His tired eyes sparkled. “That was Giovanni. Finally, some good news. The US Patent and Trademark Office just approved our patent for the TNG2. It’s done.”
*****
The trip to China seemed like a lifetime ago. Here she stood three days later, clutching Alex’s hand, as they walked inside the funeral home. It was packed full of people. She had absolutely no idea who most of them were. As far as she knew, Nate didn’t have much family. According to him, he was an only child. His parents had died when he was a teenager. He’d only had one aunt and wasn’t very close to her. There was his girlfriend, Cara. Maybe they were friends of hers. Of course, Braylee recognized some of their co-workers from her law firm among many of the other faces. Fabi, Stephanie, and Lisa had come along to the funeral for moral support. Fabi and Stephanie had met Nate a few times but didn’t have a real relationship with him. However, Lisa and Nate had grown quite close over the past several years.
This was going to be one of the hardest moments of Braylee’s life—saying goodbye to an old friend. “Friend” couldn’t really define their relationship. He was family. Being such a controlling person, she would have liked to have had more of a hand in planning Nate’s funeral, but Cara insisted she had it all covered. It was probably for the best considering everything she and Alex had gone through over the last couple of days. Not to mention, her morning sickness had really been morning, noon, and night. Braylee sighed inwardly, not realizing Alex was completely attuned to her every sensibility. He squeezed her hand a little just to let her know he was there for her. She turned and gave him a very small smile. Given all their experiences over the last few months, Braylee was learning to be grateful for the small things in life. Love and affection were a gift. No one had to love you, as her mother was proof of that. In this moment, though, Braylee was just happy to have the people she loved the most surrounding her. More and more, the importance of family and mending her broken relationship with her mother had become a major priority.
She and Alex walked to the front of the funeral home towards the seats that were reserved for the family and sat down one row behind them. Just as she had gotten settled, a gentleman in front of her turned. He looked her in the eye, then nodded.
Bewildered, she spoke softly. “Hello, Malcolm.”
Chapter 22
While her heart was breaking, Braylee sat stoically throughout the funeral. Her tears would not fall at least not here in front of all of these strangers. Not even in front of Stephanie, Fabi, or Lisa. No, she would mourn privately when she was alone. Nate’s girlfriend, Cara had asked if she could deliver a few comments and it was going to take all of her strength to keep control and to maintain her mask if she had even a small chance of making Nate proud.
“I would like to say a few words about Nate.” Cara’s soft but strained voice snapped her out of what felt like a dream-like state. “He was my partner, my friend, and the light of my life. For those of you who knew him, even if only casually, I know you could still attest to his warm smile, his quick wit, and his love and dedication for those he loved.” Her voice caught as she said these last words. “Tomorrow is not promised, and that’s why we loved as if tomorrow would never come. Sleep well my love. Time and space will never separate us.” In tears, Cara walked away from the podium to take her seat next to Malcolm and Nate’s aunt. Malcolm touched her shoulder with a familiarity that confused Braylee. How did Cara know him? Why was he sitting with the family?
The funeral home director followed the program and asked Braylee if she would like to say a few words. She took a deep breath and stood. As she walked toward the podium, her head swiveled around to take a good look at all the people in the room. Who were all of these people? It didn’t matter, but it nagged at her. She would ask Cara about it later.
Braylee went up to the podium.
