The Boss [LGBT]

Chapter 6

"I'm glad you say you still love them. There are lots of people who say they don't love their parents or their siblings but once their parents or siblings pass away then they realize that they actually do love them. They fight and then one passes away and they wish they could've said I love you just one more time. I'd hate to see something like that happen to you." I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I'm glad my family and I tell each other we love each other often. Usually when we say goodbye we say we love each other. That was the last thing I said to Aunt Carmen. It was earlier in September. We had some barbeque thing going on during Labor Day weekend at my parents' house and once everyone was leaving I told her goodbye. Since I live in the city I don't see them that much. I talk to my parents and they tell the rest of my family what I've been up to. I wish I went home and visited more."

"If you ever want to take the time to visit your family you can, Em."

I nodded, not being able to swallow the lump in my throat that time so some tears flowed down my cheeks, my breath shaky. He moved closer to me and put an arm around me, pulling me to him, letting me rest my head on his chest. I closed my eyes, just wanting this feeling to stop.

Later on in the day, when the majority of people had come and gone, I stood up with my cousins Mike and Molly because we hadn't gone up to the casket yet. Mr. Jeff stayed back, letting the family go up as we looked at my aunt in the casket, and it really didn't look like her. I sobbed, because I missed her and I was afraid of who could be next in the family. We let my uncle and his kids tend to the casket. I walked back outside and Mr. Jeff was waiting by the car.

"Thank you for coming," my mom told him.

"Not a problem," he said kindly. He looked to me and asked, "Do you need me to stay in town with you, Em? To give you a ride back to the city when you're ready?"

"No, you don't need to. I can take the train back and you can always pick me up at the station."

"Alright. You can come back whenever you're ready to."

I nodded at him, feeling grateful my boss was so caring. He called me his friend earlier. That meant something, but at the time I couldn't appreciate it. It was only later when I realized how we were getting closer to each other, which made me thankful.

"Thanks for watching over him," Dad said, and then led Mom to the car.

"Thanks for coming," I told him. We stood there silently in the cold air, him looking at me caringly and me looking at the ground, emotional. "Do you really consider me a wonderful friend?"

He nodded. "Of course I do."

We hugged tightly. I didn't want to leave his arms. Suddenly, it was much more than physical longing.. I got a ride from Mom and Dad to the house. We all went to sleep, or at least tried to. Even with sleeping pills it was still difficult to sleep, but eventually it came over me. The next day was an emotional one. We arrived at the funeral home again and my aunt Coreena read a beautiful eulogy. After, the family went up to the casket and my uncle Hank closed the casket slowly, looking at his beloved wife. He turned around and I could never forget the look on his face as he sobbed, the torment and the sadness cascading over him. That's when we all sobbed, too, the casket shutting making it more real, bringing us to the fact that she was gone. We drove in the funeral procession to the a graveyard on the edge of town. She was buried, and I couldn't get my cousin Drake's sobs out of my head as he walked away from the casket, the sobs so loud in the quiet afternoon . After, we went to Aunt Carmen's house where food was set up. We ate and got in a better mood. My family was pretty religious, and although I wasn't sure about religion or thought about, it was comforting to them to think that she was in Heaven. I wasn't sure if there was a Heaven, but I think for myself I'd believe in it. It was comforting to know.