I adjusted my position on the bed, my eyes squinting. It should probably be mid day, but I had no motivation to even wake up. It was annoying how in the end, to my father, I was only an alimony. Or the price for it.
I turned to my back and sighed.
It was eerily quiet. This is one of those days that I would have run to Bernice...but right now...right now I wasn't exactly her favorite person.
I felt around for my phone, and grabbed it once I felt the cold steel against my palm. I turned it on, and there was a notification for a message.
"Hey. This is Luke. So sorry if I am being fussy and irritating, but, I hope you are okay. I left a little package for you."
I sighed. It was starting to feel like I was ruining this second chance too.
He had sent it over three hours ago, and I dragged myself off the bed. I walked slowly to the front door, and opened it.
There was no one around, so I stepped out to get the medium sized pink box. I had just picked it and was about to go back when I felt something hold me back.
"What...?" I didn't quite finish it before I was pulled into an extremely warm hug.
"Hey."
I want tense, my body stiff and he pulled me closer, his hand on the back of my head, guiding me to rest on his shoulder. I felt all the emptiness I had felt all day starting to become liquid. Liquid that started to fill up my eyes.
"I thought I would give you a free hug too." Luke said.
I chuckled a little at his joke, and adjusted my head on his shoulder so I could safely, without quite being seen by him, let my tears out.
He said nothing as I cried into his shoulder, his hands only moving gently as he played my hair. I wasn't sure how long I stayed there, but by the time I was done, I felt embarrassed.
"Don't you think I have cried too many times in front of you?"
He shrugged. "I am not sure about that. I am just sure you need an ice pack for your eyes."
I examined him for a minute. "Did you say you don't have friends?"
He nodded.
"The world must have gone blind."
He started to laugh, then sniffed and shook his head. "Can I trust you to be okay?"
"Are you going somewhere?"
"We are starting to prepare for a wake and burial." His voice trailed off as if he needed to muster courage to say the rest. "For my father."
I looked down at my feet. "And here I am bothering you with my problems."
"We have to take care of the living." He said, and I caught glimpse of the young boy who never really felt he had done enough for his father. I guess a beautiful face is enough to hide every scar in the world.
I smiled at him. "Do you want me there?"
"I can handle this one. Maybe just the wake...burial...you know." He swallowed and rapidly blinked. A thing I always did when I was trying not to cry.
"I will be there wherever you need me."
He smiled and nodded. "Take care of yourself. I will...call you after the whole thing is done."
I nodded and stayed on the front porch as he slowly backed away, then entered his car. He got in, then made a gesture for me to go in.
I nodded and opened the door, and watched as he drove away.
I walked back in, feeling better than I did, but still a little somber. This time a lot less for myself and a lot more for Luke. I wondered if Mr. McGregor in the future would be able to ever meet his son...or if he was somewhere watching this play out.
Time passed by really quickly, with me waiting for Bernice to call or text me. I thought she would, but even as the clock turned to six, she didn't. Maybe I needed to swallow my pride and do it first, but I wasn't quite ready.
I went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, and just as I started to brew, I heard my phone start to ring.
I ran back to it, but it wasn't Bernice. It was a number I hadn't saved yet.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
Luke's voice was unmistakeable. "How are you doing?"
"Much better. Was just making coffee."
"Great." He said, and silence fell between us. I couldn't pinpoint why it was so awkward. Maybe because it was our first phone call...I wasn't quite sure.
"Uhmm..." I said.
"Did you like everything?"
"Everything?"
"Yeah. The package."
I shook my head. "I am sure I will. Thank you."
"Why? You haven't opened it yet?" He asked. I heard the shuffling of something, as if he had just gotten out of bed.
"Not quite. I wanted to save it till later."
I heard a small chuckle. "You are not...by any chance standing by the window, are you?"
"Why?"
"I just think the sunset looks really pretty right now. It would be very comforting to know that you are watching it too."
I walked to the largest window in the house, and out the blinds aside. "Good enough?"
"Yeah."
His voice cracked, and I stopped.
"Why do you need comforting?" I asked him.
"Just a lot of things."
"Is it your dad?"
He shrugged. "Mum already got everything ready. For some weird reason...she won't even let me see him."
I swallowed. "Did she tell you why?"
"No. It is going to be a closed coffin too. How ridiculous is that?"
A closed coffin? Is it probably because...there was no corpse?
"I an so sorry, Luke."
He shook his head. "It is fine. Nothing a pretty sky...and a good friend can't fix."
I nodded, wondering if that would be effective when he finds out they would be burying an empty coffin.