The Color Line

Different

Today is my first day out of the hospital. My legs feel kinda wobbly since I've barely walked for the past week.

Jessie helps me to into the care and Eve climbs in next to me with her teddy bear latched to her arm.

"Do you feel better Harmy?" She asks as she stares at me with shiny brown eyes.

"Yes Eve. I feel a lot better."

"Good." She sits the teddy bear up right between us. "Because you missed our play date."

I chuckle and she smiles.

I'm glad that everyone is more relaxed now that I'm better. Jessie was ecstatic when the doctor told him that I was able to leave. He referred to me as his daughter, which for some reason I still haven't gotten use to.

My mom was happy that I was able to leave but still had this sad look in her eyes. It may be because the funeral is tomorrow. I don't want to go, but I feel like I should be there with her.

We arrive at Sunnytown and pull up to the house where I have to live. I see that Jessie has built a gate around it.

"I may get a dog," he says as we exit the car. "We probably need one."

I nod my head and follow everyone into the house.

. . .

The Day of the Funeral

I sit on Rosy's bed and play with the bracelet on my arm.

"I can't believe you don't have anything for a funeral with all those black clothes in your closet," she throws her black dress at me.

"I just don't have anything dressy like this in black," I tell her, holding up the cotton dress.

"Well hurry and get changed. It starts in an hour."

I thank her and walk into her bathroom to get changed. I slide out of my sweatpants and oversized t-shirt and slip the soft, black fabric over my body. The dress is a little snug on me and hugs my frame just right. I decide to put my hair in a neat bun to be more dressy I guess. I don't know why, but I feel like a bun is just more fit for a funeral. After putting on heels and applying a bit of mascara, I walk out of the bathroom and back into Rosy's room.

"Whoa that dress looks great on you! You can keep it if you want," she winks, trying to lighten my mood. I chuckle.

"You sure you're gonna be okay Harm?"

"Yeah, I think so. Maybe... I honestly don't know."

"I get it," she grabs my hand. "It's okay to not know. You may not even know until after it's over. It's gonna take time. Just know that if you need me, I'll always be here."

"Thanks," I give my best friend a tight hug and walk with her downstairs.

My mother is waiting for me downstairs, dressed in a long black dress with her hair tied back in two braids. She looks so elegant and beautiful. She gives me a weak smile as I enter the living room of Rosy's house.

"You okay?" I ask her. She nods slowly. She's lying but I won't pry into her feelings about everything.

The car ride seems endless. It's silent between us, mostly beacause my mom just isn't in the mood to speak. Eve isn't here so I have no one to talk to. We decided to leave her home because she'd have no interest in a funeral, and Jessie just felt like it wasn't right for him to be there.

We pull up to the church where the funeral is being held. The parking lot is tightly packed and there are people everywhere. I remember some of them but most are complete strangers.