The Day It Happened

The Hardest Day

Shayne has no idea what to expect when he arrives at Courtney's house mid-morning Tuesday, at her request, already in his own suit as he carefully knocks on her door.

"Hey, Shayne," she greets him, her tone soft but not actively upset as she opens the door and steps aside to let him in. She's already in her dress, hand holding a makeup palette of some sort – much more muted than her usual – in a clear indication she's midway through getting ready.

"Hey, sorry if I'm too early or-" he starts, but she quickly shakes her head before beckoning him to follow her into her bedroom.

"Nah, you're fine, I'm just finishing trying to do... makeup without doing makeup," she answers, sighing softly as she sits back down and looks into the mirror on her bench. Shayne, for his part, takes a seat on the end of her bed just behind her, shifting a pillow out of the way to do so.

They sit in relative silence as Courtney finishes her makeup, Shayne quietly noticing that her Alexa is uncharacteristically silent, and the curtains opposite her half-drawn so they are only open just enough for light to do her makeup in. She may not be openly upset, but he can tell she's uncomfortable, at the least.

"Okay, I think that's..." she trails off, sighing anxiously before she turns around to face Shayne a few minutes of comfortable silence later, "does that look... appropriate? Not too much?"

"Yeah, Court. You look nice but it's subtle and muted," he answers, carefully, because it's true, but he just hopes it was what she was aiming for. She nods, slowly turning back and moving a couple of palettes back into her makeup drawer under the bench before she stands up and carefully stretches.

"Then I think I'm... almost ready. Just perfume and making sure I have what I need," she mumbles, turning to wander out of her bedroom. Shayne moves back into the living room as she does, waiting for her to go via the bathroom for perfume and move out to join him, picking up a small bag from the living room sofa.

"Got everything?" he asks, gently, as she rifles through the bag, before he quickly adds, "I have a bunch of tissues too. I figure we'll both need them."

"Keys, phone, I only have room for a few tissues in this so yeah, thanks," she answers, her growing anxiety clear in her tone and her manner as she fiddles with the clasp of the bag.

"Are we ready to go, then?" Shayne asks, watching as she takes a deep, shaking breath and closes her eyes for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess," she mumbles.

"Can I hug you?" he asks, in response. She nods, and Shayne quickly steps forward to pull her into a gentle hug, feeling her rest her chin on his shoulder as her own arms wrap around his waist. "It's okay, Court. Today's going to be hard, but you can do it, there is nothing wrong with being upset, and I'll be by your side the whole time. You're gonna be okay, yeah?"

"I'm going to be a mess today but I'll be okay," she answers, softly, squeezing him tighter before reluctantly letting go and stepping back. "Let's go?"

The church the others had chosen for the funeral is a decent length drive from Courtney's apartment, and the two of them sit mostly in quietness as Shayne drives them towards the venue, with the occasional interception from his phone GPS instructing them where to turn. It's when they're only five or so minutes away that he chooses to break the silence, briefly turning to meet her eyes for a second at a red light before looking back to the road.

"Is there anything you want me to know or any specific way you want me to support you today? Like, are there any groups of people that will be there that you want to avoid, do you want me to steer conversation away from anything or... anything like that?" he asks, hearing Courtney hum lightly in response as she pauses to think.