Mountain Storm

Chapter 8

Malik met Logan and me at the funeral home. The three of us spent some time viewing Gram before everyone else started to arrive.

"She looks so peaceful." Malik said

"Yes she does." said Logan.

I was standing beside her, stroking her hair and drying my eyes with a tissue. It was hard to believe that she was gone. I broke down and started to sob uncontrollably.

Logan reached over and pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly while I sobbed on his shoulder.

"Shh, it will be OK Leec." He said as he stroked my hair, rocking me back and forth.

Malik came up behind me and stroked my back.

"No it's not." I cied out. "Who am I going to talk to when I'm having a bad day or when I need someone to give me motherly advice on men?"

"You have us Leec." Malik said, "we will tell you all about men and how horrible they are."

I started to laugh and pulled away from Logan. I used what was left of my tissue to wipe my eyes and Malik handed me another.

"This is just so hard guys. I don't remember what it was like losing mom and dad, we were so young, but Gram and Pap were all we knew, and now they are both gone." I said as more tears streamed down my face.

"I promise Leec, it will get better. It just takes time. Just remember, she will always be with you, with both of us, right here." He grabbed my hand and held it to his heart.

I nodded my head in agreement. I knew deep down it would be in time. It was just going to be hard to get to that point. I pulled away from Logan and excused myself. "I need to go to the restroom and get myself cleaned up."

I squeezed between them and walked out into the hallway. Beth had just walked through the door and saw me. she came up to me and gave me a hug when she saw my swollen red eyes.

"Here, lets get you fixed up." she said, ushering me into the restroom. She grabbed a few paper towels and wet them with cold water. "Put these on your eyes, it will help with the swelling."

Logan and I stood by the main entrance and welcomed people as they came in. After everyone had finished viewing Gram, Logan and I walked up to the casket and said one final goodbye to her. We both took turns giving her a kiss on the forehead, then we took our seats beside Malik.

Mr. Schneider came up and stood behind a podium beside the casket. He placed a notebook in front of him and started to read her eulogy.

Carl did such a nice job of reciting the eulogy I had written earlier. It stated how she and Pap had taken us in when we were just 3 years old, after our parents' untimely death, and how we were raised with values of hard work and perseverance. It touched on her career as a paralegal for over 20 years and the many clubs and activities she was a member of. In closing he recited a poem that I had found on the internet.

'Grandma, your life was full of loving deeds, forever thoughtful of our special needs.

Today and tomorrow, my whole life through, I will always love and cherish you.

There was magic in grandmother’s touch, and sunshine in her smile.

There was love in everything she did to make our lives worthwhile.

We found both hope and courage just by looking in her eyes.

Her laughter was a source of joy, her words warm and wise.

There was a kindness and compassion found in her embrace,

And shining down from Heaven above we see the glow of Grandma’s face.'

After the service, Logan and I stood by the door and thanked people as they were leaving. We did not realize how many lives Gram had touched. There were so many people there, too many to count.

"It was such a lovely service," Peggy said as she came up to us.

"Thank you." We said in unison as we chuckled. Even though Logan and I are non-identical twins, we have always been able to say the same thing at the same time when asked questions. It was the only type of twin telepathy we had.

After the last person left, Logan, Malik and I went to view Gram one last time. We stood there in silence for a few minutes, then Logan lowered the lid.

I couldn't take it. I turned around and grabbed Malik's suit jacket and buried my face in his chest as tears slid down my cheeks. He wrapped his arm around me and placed a hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair. Logan came up behind me and placed his head against mine, wrapping his arms around us. We stood there for another couple of minutes.

Carl came into the room. We pulled away from each other and when I looked at both of them, they both had wet cheeks. We didn't say a word, just walked out of the funeral home.

We all rode together in Malik's truck back to our place. I sat in the middle with my head resting on Logan's shoulder. I fell asleep before we made it home. Malik came around to Logan's side and picked me up wedding style as Logan went ahead and unlocked the door. He took me upstairs and lay me on my bed, removed my shoes and pulled a blanket up over me.

Malik was leaving the room and slowly pulling the door shut behind him when I whispered, "thank you."

He looked over his shoulder, "You're welcome baby." he said as he continued to exit the room. I rolled over and pulled a pillow to my chest and squeezed it tightly as I slipped into sleep.

My alarm went off the next morning, but I was already awake, just lying in my bed looking up at the ceiling. I pulled the covers off and headed to the bathroom to get my shower. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and put on a knee-length black dress. I slipped on black ballet flats and found a single pearl necklace that Gram had given me when I graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. It was a single pearl caged in a silver wire heart.

I headed down the stairs. Logan and Malik were in the kitchen drinking coffee. Logan slid a cup across the bar to me. We sat there in silence.

"Should we go?" Malik said looking at his watch. "It's a little after 10."

I nodded my head as I drank down the last of my coffee.

We followed the hearse in a limousine supplied by the funeral home. When we exited the car, Malik and Logan each took one of my hands and the three of us walked together. We sat on fabric-covered seats at the front. Even though we were covered by a canopy to shield us from the sun, it was extremely hot and hazy with no breeze. The funeral home supplied hand fans to everyone, which helped a little.

The service ended and Logan and I placed a red rose on top of her casket and said one last goodbye to her. We then walked over to the headstone and placed two roses on it for Pap.

We headed back to the car when all of a sudden things started to spin and then went black.