It All Started At 6 a.m.

Chapter 27

Leah

"Are you done?" Ethan asked as he appeared on my doorway, dressed in a black suit and dress shoes, completing the outfit with an orange pocket piece. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and straightened out the black dress that had an orange tie tied into a bow at the waist. Grandma wanted an element of orange in the people's attire who'd be attending her funeral. 

Ethan was carrying my thirteen-month-old cousin, Alec, who was fast asleep with his thumb stuck into his mouth. I walked towards Ethan and stood in front of him to adjust his slightly crooked tie. 

"You've got this, Leah." He put his finger under my chin and tilted my head up to look me in the eye. "I'm here for you." I nodded my head at his words as he took my hand in his and led us downstairs where all the family members were ready in their funeral attire.

Aunt Lisa tried to get Alec from Ethan's arms but the thirteen-month-old just groaned and stirred in his sleep, further clinging onto Ethan. Even this kid enjoys snuggling up to this cuddlable-human.

"It's okay. I'll carry him." Aunt Lisa smiled gratefully at him and all of us piled out of the door.

I saw Ethan struggling to get in the driver's seat with a kid in his arm, which was quite amusing, if you ask me.

"Give me your keys. I'll drive us there." My voice was raspy as I spoke for the first time after a long period and he put the keys in my open palm. I opened the passenger door for him and helped the boys to slide in the car. 

I cranked up the ignition and started following uncle Jeremy's car. The church where the service was held was a fifteen minutes drive from the home.

I pulled into the parking lot and opened the door for the boys. Ethan was still carrying a sleeping Alec and that definitely was a sight to behold.

The church was filled with relatives and some of grandma's friends. Every one had added an orange element to their dresses. 

It was grandma's favourite colour.

We took our seats in one of the front rows and the ceremony began. Mom, uncle Jeremy, and a few of grandma's friends gave their eulogies and now it was my turn.

I stood up from my seat and walked up to the front, my legs shaking as I made my way to the podium. I didn't have any speech with me, nor had I rehearsed what was I going to speak. I wasn't going to pretend that I was okay. Neither was I going to break down in front of the crowd. They don't need to know how broken I was from the inside. I cleared my throat before I began to address the crowd.

"It's the little things about grandma that seem to stand out the most. Her lively eyes, her peppy smiles, her cheerful laughs, her food-stained aprons, the aroma in her kitchen or the world of fiction that she'd created for herself, the stories that she'd narrate." My voice was hoarse as I spoke into the microphone.

"Grandma loved listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones while she cooked some of her amazing dishes in the kitchen. I'm sure everyone who has met her has memories of their own with her, something that we'll always have to cherish. " 

"The kind of love Grandma felt for us was love without condition. She may not have approved of everything we did, may not have liked some of the decisions we made, but she never judged. She just kept loving us, letting us know that she was there and if we ever needed her, we could count on her to listen, to comfort, to help. That was the kind of person my grandma was. A selfless soul." I looked up hoping to keep the tears away from sliding down and also hoping to get some strength to continue.

"For her, we were the most important people in the world. She lived to make our lives better and was proud of us. To think that someone like her felt that way about us should make us all feel more than just a little good about ourselves." I couldn't stop the teardrop that fell down my cheek.