MFT 2/ Final Class

Funeral

"What's the next step, anyway?" asked Kendall, and I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?", I asked tensely and looked at him. "Well, with your mom. Do you know yet when the funeral will be or what you guys are going to do next?" he asked. "Not really. Mum is currently being kept in the hospital in one of the cold stores and will stay there until we say goodbye to her," I replied. "Other thing. Does your mum know where you are?", I asked, seeing some shock in Kendall's eyes. "You didn't tell her where you were did you?", I asked, already knowing the answer. "I haven't gotten to it yet," he replied. "Then call her now!", I ordered, getting up from my bed. "No need. She'll take care of it," he replied just as someone called him. "Yes mum? Where I am. I'm out for a walk right now. What's up? We're leaving today already?" asked Kendall with wide eyes looking at me. "But you said... I see. Ok in 20 minutes I'll be there," he said and then hung up. "What's going on?", I asked looking at him. "We're leaving today instead of Saturday," Kendall replied, looking at me sadly. "That's too bad but probably better," I mentioned now and Kendall looked at me a little sour. "What do you mean?" he asked tensely. "Well, I still have to organize everything with Jake and Presley about the funeral and I wouldn't have much time for you," I answered and put my hands on his cheeks. "I see." I kissed Kendall and then looked at him. "You should get going or you won't make it home in 20 minutes," I mentioned. "You're right. When will you be back in Minnesota?" he asked tensely. "By the end of next week at the latest," I replied. After that conversation, Kendall and I went into the living room where Jake and Presley were already waiting for me. "Logan, we need to talk about something," Jake started. "I'll be right there. Have a safe trip home and see you soon," I said goodbye to Kendall and kissed him again. "Thanks. I hope everything goes well with you guys. Bye Logan," Kendall now also said goodbye as he opened the door and walked down the streets. "We need to plan your mom's funeral," Jake started and I sat down at the table with the two of them.

Kendall's POV:

With a feeling of disappointment, I walked down the streets until I arrived back at the hotel after a short time. "Why are we leaving today already?", I asked as I arrived at the parking lot of the hotel while Mum was stowing the suitcases in the trunk. "Liz got sick and that's why we have to go back," Katie answered annoyed and disappointed and sat down in the back seat of the car. "Why don't we stay here and do something else," I suggested, looking at Mum tensely. "What else are you going to do here in North Richland Hills honey, if we don't know anyone?" asked Mum tensely. "We do know Mr. Mitchell," I objected. "But who wants to hang out with a teacher," Katie now interjected. "Especially he's got a lot on his plate now that his mum has passed away and he has to plan the funeral with the rest of the family," Mum explained, looking at me. "Alright. Let's go," I agreed and joined Katie in the back seat as well. Once everything was stowed in the trunk, Mum drove off after a short while and now we were all heading back to Minnesota.

Logan's POV:

The following days were exhausting and a lot to organize. A funeral is not an easy and quick thing as some might think. Now we were just on our way to a funeral home to discuss the following steps, how to proceed and what to organize. For Jake, Presley and I, this was not a simple thing, like meeting for coffee, but a big overcoming to talk about Mom's death and discuss everything that was necessary. Once there, we sat down briefly in the waiting room and then were asked to join our interlocutor in the office. "Good afternoon. I'm sure this is all very difficult for you, to discuss and organize everything, and I want to give you a bit of a hand so that you know what's coming up," he began, and we listened carefully.

"First of all, you need a mortician to get everything going. I'm going to ask you directly. The deceased didn't have a will drawn up by a notary public, or did she?" he asked, and we answered in the negative. "Not that we know of," Jake replied. "The death was pretty sudden," I added. "That's understandable. That brings us right to the next topic. On the method of burial. There would be the option of choosing a casket or an urn. The next step would be to invite guests to the funeral service. Acquaintances, friends, family. A date for the funeral. Also, to find a priest, clergy or funeral speaker. You can also organize a photo of the deceased, which can be placed next to the funeral altar. You should discuss the course of the funeral with a priest. To organize would be then still flower decorations, a wreath, the appropriate music. As well as the pickup and transfer of the dead, find a restaurant, possibly for you as young professionals, you can also request special leave, as well as, of course, provide the clothes for the funeral service," explained the funeral director and for us it was initially quite a lot to organize. "Last but not least, do not miss the cemetery, church or funeral hall," he added.

"It sounds like a lot to take care of but it all sounds half-bad," the funeral director reassured us and the three of us took a breath. "How long do you think it takes to organize a funeral?", I asked, looking at him. "That depends entirely on you. Depending on what you want to organize or how quickly everything can be done, it can be a few days or at least a week," the mortician replied. "Good, we will then place the order with your company and discuss the rest for the funeral at home in peace," Jake suggested. "I'll get you the paperwork in a minute and you can discuss and organize everything at home at your leisure. If you need any help, here's my card," the funeral director replied, pressing his card into Jake's hand. "Thank you," Jake thanked him, and the mortician took out a piece of paper from a folder, which turned out to be an order, which Jake immediately filled out.

"Just to mention one more thing. Our company can also take organizational things off your hands. If you don't want to take care of certain things on your own, we can organize it according to your wishes so you don't lose track of things," he offered and we nodded. "We thank you for now. Goodbye," we said goodbye to him and left the funeral home.

1 week later

The last week was really busy as we organized everything for the funeral. Of course we also took help from the funeral home, because otherwise we could not manage to organize everything in the time. We finally decided to have a funeral with a coffin at the cemetery, as we thought this was better and Mum certainly wanted it. We also invited all the family, Mum's acquaintances and friends to all say goodbye to Mum. Just then we walked through the entrance of the cemetery and the priest led us to Mum's grave, which was already dug up and the coffin was brought down into the pit. We were all dressed completely in black, as is customary for a funeral. Placed in a semicircle around the grave, the priest began his speech. "We are now gathered here today to bid farewell to a young woman named Pamela Mitchell. Her life was abruptly ended by a hard blow of fate, which she did not survive severely wounded." After a few words from the priest, relatives including myself and Presley were now able to say a few words. "Mom, we miss you. The incident should never have happened and I'm sorry I couldn't save you from Dad. Every day I have to think about when he hurt you and I couldn't say goodbye to you properly and do anything for you. I should have protected you but I couldn't. I'm so sorry Mum," I said and now I couldn't hold back my tears. As the funeral continued, the other family members now said a few words and after the funeral we left the cemetery and spent the rest of the day at home with our family members, continuing the funeral service.

"Logan, is everything okay with you?" asked Grandma, looking at me. "I'm blaming myself Grandma," I replied, noticing tears running down my cheeks again. "What are you blaming yourself for my boy?" she asked, sitting down with me. "I should have protected Mum, but couldn't. I should have spent the night where dad hurt her in her room, then none of this would have happened," I explained, looking down at the floor. "Logan, this is not your fault. You did everything in your power to make it happen." "Mum's mad at me now, isn't she, because I couldn't save her? I wish it had never come to this," I said, looking at Grandma. "I guarantee she's not mad at you. Pamela really appreciates everything you did for her. You took care of a rescue for her as quickly as you could and you can't change what happened," she explained, putting an arm around me. "Did you know that Mum was pregnant?", I asked her with tears in my eyes. She hesitated for a moment, but then I got an answer to my question. "Yes," Grandma answered and I looked at her with wide eyes. "Why did she only tell you and not me or Jake and Presley?", I asked in wonder. "Your mother didn't know how to tell you and only told me about the baby for the time being". "I was with her the last few days before she died. Why did she just not tell me? I would have been happy to hear the news and wouldn't have minded having another sister or baby brother," I explained, looking at her.

"Why didn't she tell Jake?". "She knew he didn't want any more kids. He adopted Presley and you so he could take care of both of you. He didn't want any children himself because he was already happy with the two of you," Grandma replied. "But Mum was on the pill. How did it even happen that she got pregnant despite all that?", I asked myself, thinking. "Your mother already stopped taking the pill a few months ago to get pregnant. But Jake didn't say anything about what she was doing," she explained. "And Jake didn't use a condom for birth control when he didn't want any more children?", I asked, looking at her intently. "Your mother knew he didn't have any STDs and Jake trusted that the pill would prevent an unwanted pregnancy," she mentioned. We spent the rest of the day talking a lot and at 11 p.m. the rest of the family members left the house.