Authors: Sharon Sala
Lance suddenly needed to take a piss. “Why would I know anything about it?”
“Because I think it’s more than a coincidence that you owed money to a man from Chicago, and that the man who was on his way here was a lawyer and also from Chicago.”
Lance felt sick, but he hadn’t come this far to lose everything, so he forced himself to calm down. “I didn’t see anybody from Chicago. If he was driving around during the storm, the tornado most likely got him along with everything else,” Lance muttered, then quickly changed the subject. “Are we going to stop by the funeral home before the cemetery?”
“I see no reason. We’ve already been there once,” Joe said.
But Lance needed a complete change of conversation and remained insistent. “Sara Beth told me Susan is going to come to the funeral after all. I thought if we got there soon enough, we might be able to talk to her alone. Considering the fact that we’ve known her as long as we’ve known the Norths, and she’s just lost every member of her family, it seems like the proper thing to do.”
Joe’s antagonism toward his brother subsided
slightly. “Oh. I didn’t know. I guess we should at least stop by, then.”
Lance nodded, then wisely kept his mouth shut the rest of the way into town, even though his thoughts were churning. Crap. Crap. Crap. Just when he thought he was in the clear, another hitch appeared.
Mike and Cari had been traveling for the better part of an hour when she happened to look up and realize they were approaching the turnoff to her family home. At that point she leaned forward in the seat. Seeing so many once-beautiful trees with their tops missing, and others completely uprooted, as well as dead animals and debris in the pasture, slammed her with a host of terrible memories. The closer they got, the more anxious she became, until the turnoff appeared and the hair suddenly rose on the back of her neck.
Mike sensed the sudden tension in her body and thought she was getting sick, or possibly was in pain.
“Carolina…
cher
…are you all right? If you’re hurting, I brought your pain pills.”
But pills wouldn’t cure the pain in Cari’s heart. “That’s where I used to live,” she said, pointing to the side road. “The house was there, where all that debris is now.”
“Oh. Hell. I’m sorry,” he said.
Overwhelmed by a sudden wash of sorrow, she
swallowed past the lump in her throat and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry.
“One step at a time, Carolina. And remember, you’re not here alone.”
“And you don’t know how much I appreciate that,” she whispered.
“Hey…it’s okay. Besides, I—”
“I know. You’re doing it for Susan,” she mumbled.
Mike opened his mouth to remind her it wasn’t just for Susan, then changed his mind. Whatever she needed to believe to get through this was fine with him. He glanced at his watch. They had made good time. Over an hour yet before the services started. Plenty of time to get her to the funeral home.
“How much farther to Bordelaise?” he asked.
“About five miles,” Cari said.
Mike nodded with satisfaction, then frowned and pointed out the window. “There’s an awful lot of damage through here, as well,” he said, eyeing the fences still down and the broken trees in the pastures they were passing.
Cari glanced out the window, then gasped. He was right. The devastation was everywhere.
“Oh, no,” she said, pointing to what was left of a house off to their left. “That was the Barber place. The house and barn are gone. God. I hope they’d already left for church.”
“That’s right. The tornado hit on Sunday morning, didn’t it?”
Cari nodded, then bit her lip and looked away.
A short while later they entered the city limits of Bordelaise. To Cari’s horror, it was evident her hometown had not escaped the tornado’s wrath.
“Oh, no. The back of the jail is gone. And the courthouse…the roof. Oh. Oh. And the beauty shop… So much damage. So much history just gone.”
“It looks pretty bad,” Mike agreed. “But for every place that got hit, there are two that are still standing. See. The barber shop…and the supermarket. And the flower shop. Looks like they lost a plate glass window, but nothing else. They’re still open for business. I know this looks bad. But people are resilient. They will rebuild.”
“If they’re still alive,” Cari said, and then clenched her hands and thrust them into her lap, as if bracing herself for whatever was coming next.
“Where’s the funeral home?” he asked.
She pointed. “See that stop sign up ahead? Turn left, then it’s two blocks down.”
“Got it,” he said, and followed her directions all the way to Sumner’s Funeral Home.
He parked in front and then killed the engine. “Are you ready for this?”
Cari had started to shake. The knowledge of what lay ahead was overwhelming her.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“If you start to panic, just say my name,” he said. “I’ll be beside you all the way.”
Cari shifted the sling on her shoulder, then reached for her bag and put on the sunglasses. “Don’t forget. You need to call me Susan.”
“I won’t forget. Now sit tight. I’ll come around and help you out.”
“I can get myself—”
“Your arm is in a sling. You have bandages all over the place and staples in your head. At least pretend you’re handicapped, tough stuff.”
“Oh. Yes. Right,” she said, then waited for Mike.
A few moments later they walked inside, with Cari leaning on Mike’s arm. She thought she’d braced herself to face Sarah Beth, but when she saw her old friend, there was a moment when she wanted to turn and run. Then Sarah Beth saw her, and it was too late to escape.
“Oh. Miss Blackwell, you did make it.” She started to shake Cari’s hand, then saw the sling and clasped her hands in front of her instead. “You’re just in time for the final viewing. This way, please. We’ve put the family together in one room. And once again, please accept my sympathies for your loss.”
Cari couldn’t speak for the horror that lay ahead. Then she felt Mike’s hand at the small of her back, and looked up and caught his gaze. At that moment everything faded but the task at hand. She took a deep breath, then leaned into his strength as she followed Sarah Beth down a hallway and into the first room on their right.
It went without saying that Cari’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe. The last time she’d seen them had been brutal. And yet when she walked into that small, quiet room and saw all the flowers, and then the three caskets lined against the wall, she went weak—but with an odd sense of relief.
The trauma that had been done to her parents had been skillfully hidden. The clothing Sarah Beth had chosen for them to wear was perfect. Her mother’s dress was blue, which had been her favorite color. The gray suit they’d dressed her father in was unfamiliar, but the expression of peace on his face was not.
When she realized she’d been holding her breath, she slowly exhaled, and with that, came tears.
“Oh Lord, help me through this,” she whispered, and moved forward, drawn like a magnet by the need to touch her loved ones one last time.
Mike stood back, giving her privacy, while aching for the vastness of her loss. As he waited, he couldn’t help but notice the closed casket at the end of the row.
That would be Susan. Such an ignominious end to a good and gentle woman.
Goodbye, dear friend. You will be missed in so very many ways.
Then his gaze turned to Cari, and just in time. He leaped forward and caught her just as her knees gave way. Within seconds, she was holding her sunglasses and stammering through tears.
“I d-don’t know what h-happened. I started to—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Mike said, and then turned her around and wrapped her in his arms. “I am sorry…so sorry,” he said softly.
His sympathy was Cari’s undoing. Silent tears turned to harsh, ugly sobs, ripping up her throat and shattering the silence with her grief.
“I know, I know,” he whispered, as he rocked her where they stood.
Cari cried until her head was throbbing and her eyes were all but swollen shut. Ironically her red and swollen features added to her disguise when Joe and Lance Morgan walked into the room.
Mike saw the men enter and was about to ask them to wait until Cari was ready to leave, when one of them suddenly rushed forward.
“Susan! Sweetheart! We’re so sorry for your loss.”
Mike heard Cari gasp, then saw her tense. Before he could think what to do, she had turned to face the visitors, her sunglasses still in her hand.
“Lance. Joe. Thank you for coming,” she said.
Ah, Mike thought, as he narrowed in on the younger of the pair. He felt Cari’s nervousness and pulled her a little closer.
Lance took one look at Susan, then stopped suddenly, as if he’d run into an invisible wall.
Mike watched the shock spread across the man’s face and for a moment thought the whole ruse had failed before it started. Then Lance started rambling, and Mike realized she’d pulled it off.
“My God, Suze! Sarah Beth said you’d been in an accident, but I had no idea it was so serious. Are you okay? Is there anything we can do for you? Here, let me help you—”
The moment Lance reached for her, Cari flinched and held up her hand. “No!” Then she realized how strange that might seem and managed to stammer an awkward explanation. “I mean, Mike…uh, my boss, Michael Boudreaux, is helping me, but thank you.”
Joe reached out, gently touching Cari’s shoulder. The compassion on his face was nearly her undoing.
“Susan, it’s been too long, and this is a terrible place for a reunion. You know how sorry we are. We loved Cari and your parents like they were our family, too.”
Lance, however, had moved from consoling her to being impressed by her boss’s presence.
“Say, are you Michael Boudreaux of Baton Rouge?”
Mike looked a bit taken aback. “Yes, I’m from Baton Rouge.”
Lance grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’ve read a lot about your business ventures, and I’m a great admirer of your business acumen. If you ever have an opening—”
“Lance, for God’s sake! This is not the time or place,” Joe said, then glanced back at Cari. “Sorry, Susan, but you know Lance.”
Cari did know Lance—all too well. Still, she chose to ignore his gaffe.
“Thank you for your sympathy,” she said, then turned to Mike. “What time is it?”
He got the hint that she wanted them gone and quickly glanced at his watch. “A little after ten-thirty. The service starts at eleven.”
“I need to freshen up,” Cari said.
“Certainly. Lean on my arm,” Mike said.
Cari nodded, then glanced at the Morgans one last time. “I hope I’ll see you both at the dinner afterward?”
“Absolutely,” Lance said. “After all, we were almost family.”
Cari tried not to glare. “I remember,” she said sharply.
Lance looked taken aback, as if puzzled by Susan’s emotional reaction. Then he realized Cari had probably told her everything about his faux pas with the stripper. He still thought she’d made a big deal out of nothing, but it was all water under the bridge.
“We’ll see you later,” he said, then added, “Joe, we’d better head to the church, too, or we won’t be able to get a seat…unless Susan wants us to wait and sit with her. After all, we were like family.”
Mike saw the look on Cari’s face and knew it was time to intervene. “She’ll see you later at the dinner, okay?”
“Sure,” Joe said, and grabbed his brother’s arm. “Come on, Lance. We’ve intruded enough as it is.”
Cari waited until the sound of their footsteps had faded, then went limp against Mike.
“Oh my Lord,” she muttered. “For a moment there, I thought it was over before it had started.”
Mike slid a hand down to the small of her back. “You’re doing it,” he said softly. “If he bought it, they all will.”
She turned back to the caskets. “Mike?”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t mind, I would like to be alone for a few minutes.”
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll make sure no one else comes in.”
Cari nodded. She heard him walking away, but her focus had already shifted as she went back to her parents. She stopped at her father’s casket first and reached for his hand.
“I hate this,” she whispered, as her voice broke. “It isn’t fair, Daddy. I took you for granted, didn’t I? You were always there to fix whatever went wrong in my life. Who’s going to walk me down the aisle when I get married? Who’s going to teach my children how to bait a hook like you taught me?”
She choked, then swiped at the tears running down her face as she moved to her mother. God love Sarah Beth, but she’d even gone so far as to get some small gold loops for her mother’s pierced ears, knowing Maggie North was never without earrings and would want something formal to match her dress.
“And you, Mom. You weren’t just my mother, you were my best friend. No matter what happened
to me, you always had a way to make it better. I can’t believe I’ll never hear you laugh at those crazy Road Runner cartoons again. That I’ll never walk into a kitchen on Thanksgiving and smell your cornbread dressing baking in the oven again.” Cari’s shoulders slumped as her voice slipped to a fragile whisper. “Without you and Daddy and Susan, I have nothing left. No roots—no sense of direction—no family.”
She moved toward the closed casket, then laid her hand on the highly polished surface of the white metal. “You don’t know it, Susie Q, but right now, you’re sort of saving my life. I love you like the sister I never had, and I’m going to miss you like crazy.”
Cari grabbed a handful of tissues from a box on the table and blotted her tears, then took a deep breath before exhaling on a sigh. “I’m not sure how all this works, but wherever you’ve gone, don’t forget to save me a place.”
Then she turned and walked away without looking back. She knew she would have to sit through a long, endless viewing at the church after the service, but this was the one that had mattered. As she stepped out of the room, Sarah Beth and two men from the funeral home entered.
“I’m sorry,” Sarah Beth said, “but they’re going to have to take the caskets to the church, now. The limousine for you is ready. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you.”