Black drowned the church as Edna's funeral service was being held. Soft sobs echoed and sniffles escaped from each person. Edna's mahogany colored casket sat open. She looked more peaceful as she ever did from before.
Ebony sat in the front row next her to mother and Apryl. Tameka weeped hysterically as she held the balled up tissue to her nose. Tears raced down Apryl's face as she averted her attention to the pastor speaking a few beautiful words.
"Edna was such a wonderful woman. She had such a vibrant personality. Everyone knew she loved her family unconditionally. Her daughters, her granddaughters, everyone. She even volunteered to the community, giving to others. The upcoming generation of children is definitely missing out on such an extraordinary women, but she would not have wanted us to cry behind her. She would want us to celebrate her life." He remarked. Ebony nodded.
She opened the obituary sitting in her lap and glanced at the pictures that had been placed in the inside of it. Pictures of Edna and her mother, pictures of Edna and Tameka as a baby, pictures of Edna, Tameka and Parish on Tameka's prom night. Ebony studied the picture hard.
They all looked so happy. Tameka looked stunning in her purple satin spaghetti strapped prom dress with younger sister Parish and proud mother Edna behind both of them. All their smiles looked genuine and identical.
Ebony was surprised to see a picture of she and Edna in there. It was when Ebony graduated from fifth grade. Ebony remembered that Edna hot combed her hair earlier that morning and burnt the back of her ear.
Ebony wore a cute, layered light pink dress and diamond studs. Edna wore a beige colored dress, which hung to her curves. It was quite clear this picture had been taken before Edna had gotten sick, but regardless, she looked gorgeous.
Ebony didn't even realize that she had been crying. She prayed every night and asked God to watch over her and take good care of Edna. Usually, Ebony and Edna prayed together, but Ebony didn't want to stop just because Edna was gone. She wanted to continue praying and counting her blessings.
Ebony looked at the casket. It broke her heart to see Edna laying there. Instead, she wanted to laugh with her. To have Edna tell her she's beautiful. To pray with her. To talk about personal issues with. Edna was almost like a best friend to Ebony, and so many things they discussed will stand out to Ebony.
'Granny, can't you see me? Can you not see me crying for you? Can you not hear my soft sobs of sorrow? Can you not feel my heart shattering to pieces? Do you not know how much I yearn for your touch? For your presence? Your voice? Why did you have to go?' Ebony asked mentally, hoping Edna wouls hear it in heaven. Without warning, Ebony weeped loudly.
"Sshhh, it's okay, babygirl. It's gonna be okay." Tameka comforted Ebony, holding her close. Tameka's voice trembled, due to her crying. Ebony cried louder, latching to her mother.
Why had Edna gone? Why did she have to go? Ebony wanted her to stay and be here. Ebony knew humans were mortal, but when you lose someone who holds significant value to you, it takes a huge effect on you.
"So, next, we have a few kind words from Miss Ebony Brooks, Edna's granddaughter." The pastor announced. Everyone clapped as he stepped from the podium. Ebony's heart raced a mile a minute. She prayed she didn't go up there and stammer or be frozen with fear.
"Go ahead, babygirl." Tameka motivated, rubbing Ebony's back. Ebony gave her a weak smile and rose up from her seat. Edna's lifeless body sat in front of the podium. Ebony's stomach turned. She pulled the written speech out of her pocket and placed it on the podium. The pastor stood behind her and gave her a thumbs up.
"Okay. Uh, good morning, everyone." Ebony greeted. She looked among the sea of black and was met with many of sad faces. She looked down and got an aerial view of Edna. Her stomach turned yet again.
"Good morning." The church greeted back.
"I want to start off by expressing my feelings about my grandmother's passing. It hurt me in many ways. It was I, who first found her, cold and motionless. It was I, who witnessed the heart wrenching scene. Although it was of natural causes, I still wish it wouldn't have happened. These past few days trying to cope with such a gigantic loss, I still have to take things day by day. Eventually I'll seek closure and happiness, but for now, I feel like I lost a huge chunk of me." Ebony stated.
An old lady who sat in the third row behind Tameka cried hysterically.
"Ohhhh, lawd! Why, Jesus?! Why?! Why you had to take Edna?!" She shouted. The ushers escorted her out of the church and into the meeting room to calm herself.
"Isn't that the same bitch that Momma fought that one time?" Tameka asked Parish, not realizing how loud she was.
"The times that myself and my grandmother shared is timeless. Priceless. Forever cherished. Moments that should never be forgotten. Memories no money in the world could buy or trade for. She could be a little strict at times, but it was tough love. And through that tough love, she taught me things that I'll always remember.
It was her who taught me that I was beautiful no matter what anyone said. It was her who taught me the importance of God and when you give him your blessings, he'll reward you in return. It was her who taught that my cocoa colored skin is not ugly nor should be scrubbed off by the soap of society and European standards. It was her who taught me to, in her words, 'pop and drop' someone if they ever stepped out of line." Ebony preached. The church laughed.
"But most importantly, she taught me about the value of family. Through all the ups and downs, always value your family. Always love them and express that it'll be the last time you'll ever see them. Two nights before she died, she personally told me if anything ever happened to her, to take care of my family. To watch out for them and keep them out of harm's way.
Granny, I miss you. More than you'll ever know. Your presence will be missed. You'll always be queen in my book. Keep peace in heaven and save a spot for me. Love you dearly. Thank you all for your time." Ebony closed. Everyone clapped. Ebony stepped down from the podium and stood in front of Edna's casket. She said a quick prayer and rested a beautiful silver locket on Edna's chest.
"Take this with you to heaven. Remember when you gave it to me in second grade? I decided to give it back. Not as a throw away gift, but as a token of my appreciation sent back to you. I love you so much. Sleep in peace." Ebony whispered. She gave Edna one last glance before she sat back down next to Tameka.
"You did such a great job, babygirl. Momma would be proud." Parish praised. She hadn't brung Greg with her. Two days after Edna died, she moved back in Edna's house. No one knew if the two broke up, but they had been spending some time apart.
"Thank you, Auntie Parish." Ebony replied. In the inside, Ebony was filled with joy. She knew that Edna would love her no matter what. Nothing in this world would ever erase Edna's love. No sickness, no death, nothing.
Edna's house was crowded with people and food as people payed their final respects. Boxes of Popeyes was passed through the house. Some people came with dishes of food or some drinks for others. Ebony sat alone in her room, eating a plate of Popeyes chicken, cole slaw, biscuit, mashed potatoes with Parish's homemade baked macaroni. All day all she could think about was Edna. Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Edna shouted. Apryl's face appeared. She was carrying a plate of food in one hand and a can of Sprite in the other.
"Hey, Cocoa. What you up to? And why you just sitting here all by your lonesome?" Apryl asked. Ebony shrugged.
"I just didn't want to feel bothered by anyone else. Just chilling." Ebony replied.
"You did a great job with the speech. It was beautiful." Apryl complimented.
"Thanks. How come you didn't want to go up there?"
"I wouldn't even know what to say. I'd just burst out in tears." Apryl mentioned.
"It's not that bad when you think about it. All it takes is courage." There was a long silence between the two as they indulged into their meals. Ebony realized that Apryl was eating like a crazy person and her plate was stacked with almost everything.
"What? I'm eating for two." Apryl said.
"I know, but if you saw how funny you looked, you'd laugh. Why are you eating like a lunatic? Let the food digest first. Dang." Ebony joked.
"Shut up, Cocoa." Apryl shouted, laughing. Ebony was still feeling iffy after the trip to Jeremih's house. She was astonished that he could just disregard Apryl and the baby, but yet father another child. He was such a coward. And his new girlfriend wasn't all that cute. She just looked like another typical Instagram model. Ebony thought looks wise, the new girlfriend looked basic compared to Apryl.
"I'm so worried about me and my baby. I need to get a job now. I don't think this cosmetology school thing will help me feed my baby. I gotta look out for me and mine. I don't know where, but I need to look and find something." Apryl confessed.
"I still can't believe that he just..threw you by the waste side. Why would he put you two's relationship over what's right? What's gonna happen if him and the other girl break up? He gon stop taking care of that one?" Ebony asked.
"Don't know, don't care. After that disrespectful shit she said the other day, she deserves exactly what comes to her." Apryl shrugged. "But, thanks for coming and being a support system. I was ready to Batista slam that nigga."
"I had to come. I knew things would've went south, so I had to support. Now that you mentioned it, I would've fought the girlfriend if she wasn't pregnant. Pop and drop that hoe."
"You sounding like Granny now. Let me find out her gangster spirit jumped into your innocent body. Poor lil Eb gon be popping and dropping everybody." Apryl joked. They both laughed.
"I don't always feel like violence is the answer, but after dealing with all the bullying at school, I might need to throw a punch or two. It stopped for now but I got a feeling someone gon' try it again. Get that ass whooped." Ebony described. Apryl laughed hysterically.
"You crazy. I can't take you serious, but I hear you. Let them hoes know dark skins ain't nothing to be clowning about. All black girls winning, but don't feel superior to me because you got a lighter skin tone. My hands are un-prejudice and bi-sexual." Apryl said.
"Preach." Ebony responded. The two continued to laugh and talk about anything that they could come up with.
It was three days after the funeral, and the Brooks family was slowly dealing with the death of Edna. Tameka's whole sleeping schedule changed. She'll go to sleep late and wake up early in the morning like Edna did. She would browse through old scrapbooks and look at pictures of her family.
Today, Tameka specifically needed to clean. She needed to clean the kitchen, take out the trash, and sweep the floors. She went into each room and grabbed all of the trash.
She went into Ebony's room and found an abudance of papers everywhere. She was about to throw them away, until she read that there were about Edna. She decided against it and went into the guest room Parish slept in.
Parish had empty match boxes, empty cigarette boxes and wrappers of Toosie Rolls. Tameka shook her head as she gathered the trash and went into Apryl's room. Apryl's trash can was located in her bathroom.
Tameka quietly went into the bathroom, but something in the trash can sparked her interest.
"Hmm, two positive pregnancy tests? Apryl's pregnant? What the fuck?" Tameka asked herself. She carefully wrapped the sticks in toilet paper to use as evidence.
As she carried all of the trash to the dumpster outside, she saw something else that rose her eyebrows.
Three pregnancy test boxes and a crackpipe.
"Oh hell nah! We need to have a fucking family meeting!" Tameka exclaimed.
Ohhhh shitty titties! It's finna go down. Put on your seat belts.