HOME COMING

6

"What did you just say?" Mildred asked staring at Peggy.

"You don't think its wrong too, right?" Peggy asked, her facing falling.

Mildred shrugged her shoulders "You have to talk to Jeanie about this" she said "I don't know if she still has anything for that guy"

"She never had anything for him Milly, why are you all making things out from this?" Peggy insisted "we both knew how we all were to that guy years ago, she didn't have a speck of feeling for him"

"I think this is all strange Peggy" Milly said signaling for the waiter to come and take their orders.

After few minutes of Peggy going through everything that happened in her office, and crying over it all they decided to talk more about the homecoming.

"I spoke with Laura Croft today" Milly said, her face falling.

Peggy chuckled "she is still quite the devil right?" She asked.

Milly nodded. Laura Croft was the hot girl every guy wanted to date back then in school. To make things worse, she was the cheerleader back then and the leader of a dance group that inhabited all the worse characters you would want to avoid.

"She still sounded pissed about what happened" Milly said fondling with her fingers "she sounded cheerful when I called but when she heard my name, I needn't even explain further, the change in her voice was quite obvious"

"Are you sure you weren't imagining things Milly?" Peggy said "it's been years now plus she is an Ambassador, rich and as far as we know she is happily married. Why would she hold a stupid teenage beef against you Milly?"

Mildred laughed "you're right, maybe I was really imagining things" she said. "Well she agreed to be there and agreed to call a dozen of the people she was still in contact with and more"

Peggy pouted "I have a feeling this whole stuff is going to be a huge success"

"Yea, Jeanie thinks so too. Just that recently she has just been in a terrible mood"

Peggy waited for the waiter to serve their order before she continued "what's wrong? What's going on?"

Milly took up her fork and began to dig on her spaghetti "Its about the funeral" she said "she has been so guilty recently that its almost tearing her apart"

Peggy shoved her food into her mouth "its like its been a guilt party since this homecoming came up" she said "do I still have to call her and tell her that none of what happened was her fault or should I just keep my cool?"

Milly chewed on her food ravenously "she stills thinks if she hadn't jumped on him like that he wouldn't have died"

Peggy huffed "who ever dies because someone jumped on them? You all jumped on me half of the weeks I spent
in school and I'm still alive"

"Peggy!"

She flung her hair "truth be told, Frank Stort was a sickly child. He died of a heart attack" she said "Jeanie has to get on with her life"

Milly pushed her plate aside "she doesn't take it that way, she is really saddened"

"Does poor David know?" Peggy asked. David was Jeanie's loving husband of three years.

Milly shrugged "I don't think so, I think she doesn't want him to know. I mean who would want her husband thinking she was drooling over  a dead guy"

Peggy nodded in understanding "Cool though, we need to take a break out of our personal lives. I'm happy we are having this home coming"

Milly picked up a serviette and began to wipe her mouth "I overheard people talking about one Stan, there is a strong rumor that he is a paid hand"

Peggy's cheeks paled "I hope this is not where I think it's going"

Milly nodded "it indeed is, he is coming for the homecoming too. He was our class set but I don't remember him"

"A paid hand! An assassin in the same roof with me. Gracious me, what else am I still to hear?" Peggy said "does Abbie know?"

"No, I will send a message to her this night" she replied.

They stayed for a little while discussing about the class set and the party with a cone of ice cream,  before they finally decided to call it a day.

Two days later, the morning was a little too hot than the four friends expected. Sitting at the back pew of the church, Abbie, Jeanie, Peggy and Milly wore dark dresses and solemn faces. They had arrived together like they had planned to and had opted for the back pew.

Abbie and the two others wore black dresses and hats while Jeanie had a dark sunshade over her eyes as she shuddered and wept into Abbie's shoulder. School mates from Beverly Highs were sitting around too.

It was a long sermon about life on earth and life after death. The picture of Frank stood at the pulpit.

"I can never know what's like for Frank to be an adult" Jeanie whispered as she kept torturing herself "it was all my fault"

Abbie squeezed her hand a bit "its okay Jeanie" she said and for the hundredth time that day, she added "it was never your fault"

But Jeanie ignored her and kept sobbing.

Abbie looked over at Milly and Peggy, they both gave her a sad smile. It was obvious they shared in the sadness but not in the way Jeanie did. She still wept for him like he had just died yesterday.

Abbie looked forward and tried to ignore the crying Jeanie on her shoulder and tried to focus on the picture at the altar. It was one of Frank's best obviously and looking at how neat it looked, his parents must have reserved a special place for it.

On the picture was the smiling face of Frank. The ever happy boy back then with his glasses which he often wore on his neck with a rope than on his eyes. He had been Jeanie's best friend, he had been her friend before  the cycle was birthed.

His shiny brown eyes matched perfectly his hair which was the rich colour of sand and his mouth was parted in a heartwarming smile. It was difficult to believe that he had been suffering from heart diseases until the faithful day he had an arrest and died.

It was difficult to look at his face without bursting into tears, but they couldn't grieve more than the parents not after so many years. It would make them look either insincere or suspicious.

When the Priest finally asked everyone to pray, she had that strange feeling of someone watching her. She turned to the end side the left wing and was about to turn to the right pew when she saw a pair of eyes fixed on her but when she blinked in fear, she didn't see the eyes on her again. The owner of the eyes had his head bent and was muttering a prayer now. She wasn't sure if she imagined it but it all happened too fast for her to be truly sure it did happen. She strained her eyes to get a glimpse of the man but the big hat of the woman in front covered him well and when he fought harder to see, she caught the sight of an old woman eyeing her in disgust.

She quickly looked away and focused on the angelic face of the deceased.