Janet
"Seven when we get into this car call your mother. I haven't heard from her since they left and I don't want to call cause she could be around her aunts or someone." Me and Seven just landed and was now on the way to the church for the funeral, but I haven't heard from Icelyn.
"When are y'all going to tell everyone y'all never were divorced and are back together? All this ducking and lying ain't okay especially since y'all rey be in a church, I don't want to be near y'all when you guys get struck by lighting."
"When are you going to tell your great-grandmother you got someone pregnant at seventeen?"
"Touché." He picked up his phone to call but he didn't get an answer. "Straight to voicemail."
"Try one of your sisters." Just as he was about to call Toni called me. "Never mind. Hey Toni I haven't heard from Icelyn do you know where she is? What? Say that one more time please. What do you mean you haven't heard from her in two days? Well have you spoken to Jaliyah? Okay I don't know what hotel she stayed at if she didn't stay with Caché. Okay hopefully she'll be at the funeral, yeah yeah I'll see you in twenty."
"Seven you spoke to your mother or Jaliyah?" He shook his head no. "I haven't spoken to anyone but you, I promise." I looked at him and tried to call Icelyn but it went straight to voicemail. "I hope she shows up for this funeral because we can't go looking for them now." Not even twenty minutes later we were at the church but we didn't get out until we saw the family car pull up.
"Seven go join your sisters I'll be with Toni." He fixed his tie and put on a sad face as he walked over to the girls and someone tapped me on my shoulder. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Oh hi Ms. E, I came to make sure Toni was okay and my children, but it's so good to see you." I hugged her and she hugged me back. "Have you seen Toni? I only see the girls."
"Yeah she's still in the car she's been trying to call someone the entire drive over here. Try to see if you can get her out because we are about to walk in." I nodded and walked over to the car and knocked on the window. Toni opened the door and I climbed in. "Hey T come on we have to go in."
"I know but Icelyn needs to be here after all this was her mother."
"You're her mother to Toni." She laughed. "Yeah no not really I just gave birth to her, look if she's not here this will eat her alive she needs to be here." I took her phone and grabbed her hand we got out of the car and the cameras started going off immediately. "Damn we some famous bitches." I said and Toni laughed. We walked in the doors to the church and was met with Candice's casket at the end of the aisle. "This is your chance to thank her." I whispered and she pulled her sunglasses down.
We were the last ones to come in so all eyes were on us as we took the slowest walk I've ever taken. Toni was slowly but surely crumbling with every step we took because it became harder to hold her up as we got closer to the casket. Once we were less than a foot away she leaned against the casket and started to cry.
"It's okay Toni, I promise you it'll be okay." She nodded and kissed her two fingers and placed them on her cheek and whispered, 'thank you', she stood up straight and we went to go sit down. After sitting in silence the Pastor called for the last viewing and no one stood up, until the doors opened and in walked Icelyn and Jaliyah. They both had sunglasses on but we could tell Icelyn had been crying, she was carrying herself well.
From her walk to her outfit, I never seen someone pregnant that could walk so easily in a six inch stiletto heel. Jaliyah walked along with her making sure to hold her up. When she got closer to Seven and the girls, Seven rushed over to hold her up on the other side because she started to slow down and she was only half way down the aisle. Syx, Jaeyln, and Jaylah all got up as well to walk with them.
After what seemed like forever she reached the casket and didn't make a sound she just stood there, but she broke down after a minute and started to sob quietly but you could see her trembling. Seven tried his best to hold her up but he wasn't strong enough even with the girls help. Toni tried to get up to go help her but I knew she wasn't going to be any help so I went instead.
"They took her from me! They took my mother! Oh my God what am I supposed to do now? How can I go on without someone to call on anytime of the day? Whose gonna be there for me when no one else will? Who else is going to love me unconditionally?" Icelyn couldn't hold herself up and she could barely breathe. Me and the kids were huddled around her so no one could see they only heard.
"Come on baby get up. You have to calm down because none of this is good for you. Get up Icelyn!"
"Baby how am I just supposed to leave her like this?"
"You know she wouldn't want you falling out like this, she would want you to get up and be strong and live to tell your story, her story, and the truth to your children. She wouldn't want to see you like this, so get up come on." She started to get up and when we walked away she started to hyperventilate, so we stopped walking.
"MA! What's wrong with her? Why can't she breathe?" Jaylah asked. "Calm down and breathe Icelyn, we need you to breathe. Focus on breathing, come one count with me 1..2..3..4..5." It was not working she still couldn't breathe properly and it was starting to scare the girls. "Guys don't cry take a seat I'll take her outside." I walked her through the church to the outside and we sat on the steps as soon as we stepped outside.
"Come on breathe, 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10. There you go keep going just focus on that." After five minutes her breathing was back to normal but she still was crying. "It's going to be alright Ice you have me, Toni, and the kids. We are all still here for you so you can never be alone again." I rubbed her stomach as we sat on the step because every time she got upset it seemed to help.
"What would I do without you?" I shrugged my shoulders and she laid on my shoulder. "Ready to go back in?" She nodded her head yes. "But before that I want a kiss."
"Out here?"
"Yeah out here, I asked didn't I." I laughed. "You sure did." She leaned in to kiss me and we shared a deep long and passionate kiss that caused me to grab her neck. When we pulled away she bit my lip and grabbed my hand leading me back into the church. We sat in the back because the closer she was to her the worse she would act. The service lasted two and a half hours and we all went to bury her at King Memorial Park. After we left the cemetery my driver took the kids to go get there things and Icelyn's car so we could go home.
"I thought I could stay but I can't it's just not the same I have to go back home immediately."
"Yeah I have my plane here we all will just go back on that it leaves in an hour so we have to go now just follow me."
"Okay I have to call Caché and let her know I won't be coming back I'll be behind you."
"Okay." Before she got in the car she called out to me. "Janet thank you for today, and I love you, I never stopped loving you."
"I love you too."
