Pushing Forward (Sequel to An Unlikely Duo)

Chapter 14: Funerals and Freak Outs

"Kayla I need your help" the voice on the other end of the phone was frantic.

"Calm down what's wrong?" I felt my heart rate start to pick up.

"I've never been to a funeral. I don't know what I'm supposed to wear"

"Tyler Barrett you don't start a conversation about your wardrobe problems with 'Kayla I need your help'. You had me terrified" I scolded him as I dug through my closet looking for a black dress. Two dresses in one month was two too many.

"I'm sorry, but my best friend's dad just died, and I don't know what the heck I'm supposed to do. Don't people normally bake a casserole or something during these situations? I can't cook. Kayla I can't even find matching black dress socks. I don't know what to do" it was clear Tyler was running around his house because he was struggling to breath normally.

"Tyler calm down. You don't need to make a casserole. No one is going to see your socks under your pants so just find any two black ones" I waited until I could hear him stop running before I went back to looking for my dress.

"Okay I found two black socks. Wait they're football socks. I can't wear football socks to a funeral. Kayla-"

"Tyler just put the stupid socks on. No one is going to notice. Besides Mr. Mitchells loved football" I finally found the dress and yanked it out of my closet.

"Okay thanks Kayla. I'll pick Paige up first, and then pick you up in about thirty minutes so we can all go together" Tyler sighed.

"Thanks Tyler. I'll see you soon. And no more running around. You'll sweat through your suit" I teased before saying good bye.

I put the simple black dress on, straightened my hair, and found a pair of suitable sandals before going in search of Charlotte.

"Char where are you?" I shouted through the house when I didn't find her in her room.

"In the kitchen" she called back. I made my way downstairs to find my little sister in her black dress and tights coloring at the kitchen table.

"What are you making?" I asked her as I peered over her shoulder.

"It's a card for Jake. See this is him and this is his dad" she pointed to the respective stick figures. There was a little note too.

"That's really sweet Char. I'm sure Jake will love it. Can you find your shoes? Tyler and Paige will be here soon" I helped her put her colored pencils away before she ran out of the room.

Normally I wouldn't take an eleven year old to a funeral unless it was a relative, but Jake was important to her, and she wanted to be there to support him.

Charlotte and I climbed into the back seat of Tyler's car and the four of us sat in comfortable silence on our way to the funeral home.

When we got there the line to pay respects to the family was already out the door. Mr. Mitchells coached younger levels of football for years, and half of the line consisted of his old players.

As we inched up closer to the casket I finally caught sight of Jake and his mom. Jake always wished he had siblings to play with and help absorb some of his dad's "attention" so it wasn't all focused on him and his football career. Now he probably wished he had someone there to help him through this besides his mother who could barely handle her own grief let alone her son's. That's when friends became the equivalent of family.

We made small talk as we stood there surrounded by people in black.

Finally when we got to the front I held Charlotte back to let Tyler and Paige go first. They each hugged Mrs. Mitchells first and offered their condolences before moving on to Jake.