The Ties That Bind

22. letters of love

o l i v i a

The world is against me. The universe has stolen every ounce of happiness I have ever felt. In a blink of an eye, my life has become a complete nightmare. I'm hanging on my a tiny thread. The only thing keeping me going is Parker and our baby girl. My lifelines. Because my other lifeline—she's gone.

As Parker drives us to Edgewater for the funeral service, I nervously practice my speech.

Mrs. Bronwyn's younger brother Maxwell reached out to me a few days ago, with a request for me to do the eulogy. Drafting my speech was no easy task. I went through many sheets of my paper, along with buckets of tears. I wrote about the many memories we shared back when life was simple. My only worries were my sisters.

Parker spares me a quick glance. "You okay, Golden Babe?" His right hand continues to stroke my thigh ever so gently.

I bite my bottom lip to prevent myself from crying. "I will be."

We pull into the chapel a few miles from my parent's house. When we step out of the car, I spot several familiar faces. An anxious feeling washes over me. As if he could read my mind, Parker grabs my hand. His presence alone has brought me an immense amount of comfort.

"You want to wait here for a bit, or are you ready to go in?" Parker asks.

"Let's head in. I want to talk to Maxwell before the ceremony starts," I say.

As we get closer to the entrance of the chapel, I adjust the sleeves of my dress. I decided to go with a modest black dress, with lace sleeves and heeled sandals. Thankfully, the dress somewhat conceals my baby bump. Not that it's huge or anything.

Parker looks stunning and clean cut in his black dress shirt and pants. I've seen him in formal wear tons of times before and after hockey games, but he always impresses me.

The soft, melodic music fills my ears, when we enter. Immediately, I spot my family standing toward the front of the church. Despite my bubbling nerves and anger, I suppress my feelings. Today is about Mrs. Bronwyn. I can't be selfish and steal the spotlight. Although, my family probably will. Who knows?

Maxwell stands near the entryway, passing out the funeral programs. "Olivia," he says with a friendly smile. He looks absolutely dashing, rocking the peppered hair look.

For some uncontrollable reason, my eyes start to water. His uncanny resemblance to his sister makes me miss her so much. As if sensing my sadness, he embraces me into a hug.

He hands me one of the programs. A beautiful picture of Mrs. Bronwyn that seems to be recent, is displayed on the front. Her smile that could light up an entire room puts a smile on my own face.

"You must be Parker." He holds out his hand for a shake.

"Yes, sir," Parker says.

Maxwell smiles. "May I talk to you in private? I have some business I need to discuss with you."

Parker looks to me for approval and I nod. Huh? Wonder what that's all about. The two walk over to an empty corner of the church, just as my family begins to approach me. Maybe I can run back to the car.

"Hi, Olivia," my mom says solemnly. Unexpectedly, she pulls me into a hug. A few seconds pass, then my family joins in. This is odd. Really, really odd.

When we all pull back, I watch their eyes roam my stomach. I want to blurt out, Yes, there's indeed a baby in there.

To fill the awkward silence, Emma says, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Ollie. I know how close you were to Mrs. Bronwyn. You were basically her daughter."