When I finished greeting and thanking people, I made my way over to the car that had brought me to the graveyard, and I bumped into my mother along the way.
“Are you coming to the pub?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I just want to go back to your house and go to sleep. I will only cry around everyone in the pub, Mum.”
My mother nodded in understanding. “I know, baby. I can’t see myself staying very long either. I just want to go and thank everyone for coming.”
“Give those I know my best, will you?” I asked. “Oh, and say bye to Kale too. I didn’t get a chance to.”
My mother nodded once more and kissed my cheek. “I will. Now go on home and get some sleep. I’ll check in on you when I get in. Ask the driver of the black car to bring you back. Ally and Samantha drove here. They’re bringing us back to the church.”
I hadn’t seen either of them since I arrived at my parents’ last night, but that wasn’t surprising given the number of people who had turned out for the mass and funeral itself.
I hugged my mother tightly before heading over to the black car. The driver was having a cigarette, but he quickly dropped it and covered it with his foot when I neared him.
“Hello, miss,” he said, dipping his head in greeting.
I nodded. “Hello. Could you bring me home, please?”
“You don’t want to go to the afters venue?”
I shook my head. “I’m not feeling up to it today, I’m afraid.”
He frowned. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
With his line of work, it saddened me to think of how often he had to say those words to people.
“Thank you, sir.”
He opened the door behind the driver’s seat for me and gestured me into the car.
“I’ll have you home in just a few short minutes,” he promised with a wink.
One minute I was in the black car driving through town, then the next I was climbing the stairs of my parents’ house. I wanted to go straight to bed and just curl up into a ball, but I needed to shower and try to wash this day off my body.
After my shower, I grabbed a large towel from the rack, wrapped it around my body and walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, where a cold chill wrapped around me, causing me to shiver. I found myself smiling and shaking my head when I found another set of Pokémon pyjamas, and it only caused my love for my mother to grow.
She was so thoughtful.
After I was changed, I put on some fluffy socks and slipped on a pair of new slippers before I blow-dried my hair. I didn’t bother with keeping it straight, but just blasted it dry, and when I was finished, I tied my hair on the top of my head in a messy bun.
I felt relaxed then.
Just as I was about to crawl into my bed and resign myself to the quiet and darkness, the doorbell chimed. I closed my eyes on a sigh and momentarily contemplated ignoring it, but I decided against that when I thought of all the people who had been by since I’d arrived, to pay their respects and offer their condolences for my uncle’s passing. I left my room and headed downstairs to greet whoever was at the door. My uncle deserved everyone’s respect and condolences, and I would happily accept them even if it killed me.
I opened the door, and through my sore eyes, I saw a very familiar face instead of a strange one. “Kale,” I said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
His lip twitched as his eyes flicked down to my pyjamas before they resettled on my own. “Your mum said you came home because you couldn’t deal with everyone in the pub, so I came here to keep you company. I don’t want you to be alone right now.”
I whispered, “But I don’t deserve your comfort, I don’t deserve anything from you.”
Kale’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”
I shrugged. “Because I made everything horribly complicated for you, then just left and never spoke to you for six years.”
Kale’s lips thinned to a line. “Let’s get you into the sitting room, and we can watch a film or something. I’m not talking about this today, tomorrow or the next day. When things aren’t so fresh about your uncle’s passing, we will talk, but for now let’s just hang out.”
I widened my eyes for a moment but quickly nodded, turned and went into the sitting room while Kale shut the front door. I was glad for the few seconds alone because I felt like I was about to freak out. While I knew Kale and I would have to talk – and talk about everything – hearing him say it out loud sent me into a bit of a tailspin.
I dreaded to think how that conversation was going to go.
“Are you okay?” asked Kale, his voice startling me.