The Abduction of Stephanie

Chapter 22

Helen’s passing is quick and painless as she goes peacefully in her sleep. Agnes and Ray are deprived of sleep as they spent the entire evening at her side, though Helen hasn’t suffered in the last few days, Agnes and Ray could feel that her death was near, almost as if an unknown force has been telling them to spend more time with her because these moments would be her last.

The funeral takes place two days after her death and though Agnes wears formal attire, she sees no reason to get all dolled up for it. Today she will be Agnes, who until recently was the only daughter Helen has ever known, today Raven will stay home.

The sky is dark and gray over the mountains and the grief around Agnes is as thick as fog. No one is smiling and few are speaking of the good times in her life, as there haven’t been many in years. Seldom did she ever leave the house after she was diagnosed. Her few friends and family stood mourning her loss and exchanging hugs as tears began to build in their eyes.

Agnes cries and cries as people greet her and say things like “I’m sorry for your loss” and “She’s in a better place now.” Her father stands next to her dressed in a suit and tie, a rarity for a hardworking blue-collar man like Ray. He drapes a shoulder over his daughter and lowers his eyes to her, and for the first time in her life she sees her father, the toughest man she knows, crying like a baby.

Agnes consoles her father, wrapping both her arms around her, holding him tightly, and knowing she is now officially the woman of the house. She has been doing most of the cooking and cleaning for years but now she will be the one solely responsible, making her father dinners, packing his lunches, cleaning the house, all while trying to graduate high school. Agnes and Ray are distraught by losing a loving wife and mother but in time they will see it as a blessing. A great burden has been lifted from their shoulders as her disease was taking a toll on their entire family.

Her casket is open in the front of the room and people take turns kneeling before her, praying for her to be taken care of in the afterlife. Beautiful flowers surround the casket and Agnes looks on as friends and relatives sign a guest book. It’s only been two days and she already misses her mother greatly, but realizes the nightmare has finally come to an end. No longer will she have to watch her mother suffer, struggling to breath at times, coughing ferociously during dinner conversations and having trouble going to the bathroom.

Ray shakes the hand of the funeral director and compliments him on the fine job he has done putting everything together. He has even setup a digital monitor that provides a slideshow of family pictures from as early as when Agnes was a baby up until she was eighteen, a picture taken just a couple of weeks ago. There are also pictures of Helen and Ray’s wedding in there, family vacations and birthday parties.

Most of the people attending are not known to Agnes, lots are old friends of her mother’s, from out of state. There are maybe twenty people that have shown up today to pay their respects and Agnes is truly grateful, she knows it would mean a lot to her mother. Some are trying to have civil conversations without Agnes about everyday life, trying to help take her mind off the loss of her mother, and others fumble with their words, tiptoeing around the fine line between what is polite and offensive after someone loses a loved one.

Ray straightens his tie again and again and Agnes can tell he is uncomfortable in a suit but she has to admit he cleans up nice. Ray is truly appreciative of everyone that has shown up to his wife’s funeral, no one would ever suspect he has a teenage girl chained up in his basement. He shakes hands and thanks them for showing up, hugging friends and relatives but still remains close to his daughter most of the time.

After greetings have been exchanged Ray takes Agnes’s hand and leads her up to the front where her mother is. The morticians have done a fine job with the embalming and Helen looks as beautiful to Ray as the day they met back in that diner in Arizona. He kneels before her and begins to pray. “Lord bless my wife up there in heaven and help Agnes and I to get by without her. And bless my daughter who has long been without a mother, give her strength and help her to find love. Amen.”

Agnes hasn’t seen her father pray in years, they used to go to church every Sunday but that was before Helen got sick and Agnes was only a little girl. Agnes places her hand on top of her father’s and looks at her mother, her eyes are closed but Agnes feels as if she is looking straight at her. She is wearing a beautiful green dress and the dolphin necklace Agnes made for her when she was seven hung around her neck, she never took if off, all those years. Ray and Agnes hold each other and kiss Helen’s forehead as they mouth their goodbyes. “I love you Mom,” says Agnes crying her eyes out. “I love you sweetheart,” says Ray also balling. The two of them thank everyone again and go home to get some rest.

The sky above the cemetery is even darker than the day before, there isn’t even a hint of sunshine and the sadness around Ray and Agnes is like a suffocating plague. Everyone is dressed in black with the exception of one man who works with Ray, who is still sporting the clothes from his job as he doesn’t have much time before needing to get back to his shift but Ray appreciates that he took the time out of his busy schedule to pay his respects to his family.

People gather around the casket, which is now closed and positioned just above the gravesite. Ray has arranged a plot at Lakeshore Cemetary where he and his wife will be buried side by side when the time comes for Ray and Helen to be reunited in the afterlife. The sky continues to get darker as a storm is slowly drawing in. Thunder rumbles in the background and a light drizzle begins.

Through the rain, members of the Bumgarner family place flowers on top of the casket, mostly carnations as they say their final goodbyes. Ray has his arm firmly placed on Agnes’s shoulder and she watches as the only mother she has ever known descends into the ground and now she is gone. Gone forever.