The Taming of the Shrew

The Funeral

*One Week Later*

Elizabeth's POV

I drive down the street, tapping the steering wheel nervously with my thumbs. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Fuck. I feel like i should say something.

"Where's the wake again?" I ask. Tom clears his throat and uncle Rob leans forward to talk.

"At the club a few blocks away." He replies. I nod and tuck my hair behind my ear, avoiding my glasses.

"Free bar?" I ask after a moment. Tom chuckles at my question. I smirk.

"Yup." Uncle Rob says. I nod again. All i have to do is get through today. Then it will all be over and i can just focus on getting everything back to normal. I take a deep breath.

"Thank god." I mumble. Uncle Rob laughs. We pull up at the church and find a parking spot. I take a deep breath and fix my hair quickly.

"You alright, Ellie?" Uncle Rob asks from the back seat. I nod, making sure my speech is in my pocket. Tom, whose hand is in mine, strokes the top of my hand with his thumb. I smile softly.

"Yeah. Yeah, im okay. Lets go in." I say, getting out of Moriarty. We all walk up to the church for mom's funeral, which is already swarming with distant relatives and people i dont even know. I scan the crowd, taking everyone in, when i see them. Evans and Natasha (Chris' girlfriend), Hemsworth, Benedict, and Mark. I walk up to them, uncle Rob and Tom following. No fucking way.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask them all. They all brighten up as soon as they see the three of us. They take it in turns kissing me on the cheek, Ben giving me an extra long hug.

"Tom and Rob told us. We all decided to come." Evans says, smiling. I genuinely smile for the first time in a week and turn back to look at Tom and uncle Rob. They smile and shrug. I chuckle.

"Thank you so much for coming." I say to them. We all walk in together through the crowd. The people all smile sympathetically at us as we go through into the packed church, ready to begin. We find our seat at the front of the building and wait for the ceremony thing to begin. Okay, deep breaths. Tom squeezes my hand. Uncle Rob takes my other hand and smiles softly at me. The priest walks up to stand in front of the coffin, then begins.

"You alright, love?" Tom whispers in my ear. I smile and nod at him, turning my head back to the speaker. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

_________________________

"I would now like to call upon Elizabeth, Jennifer's daughter, to say a few words." Im called up after uncle Rob's speech that made me lose my shit. Tom kisses my knuckles and i stand up, ready to speak. Hundreds of pairs of eyes settle on me, most of them bloodshot. I pull the crumpled piece of paper out of my pocket, look at the words, then put it back. I dont want to read that. Fuck it. I open my mouth, and words just fall out.

"I could tell you that my mother didnt know me. Since i was 15; since the accident took my father's life and her memory, she had no idea who i was. She mistook me for her best friend, Evangeline, who is among us today. She didnt see me grow up. She didnt see me go to prom or learn how to drive or celebrate my 21st birthday with me. I could tell you that; but that would be a lie." I take a shaky breath. Tom, and the others all smile at me encouragingly.

"My mother knew me all the way up until i was 15. She watched me grow up from the start of my life until just a mere week ago. She saw me in my prom dress, ready to leave. She saw me get in my car for the first time and drive away for my first ever road trip alone. She drank with me on my 21st birthday, and even though i was Evangeline in her eyes, she was my mom in mine." There are people in tears everywhere. I feel my eyes well up. Just breathe. Just breathe. Okay.