Crazy Stupid Love

Chapter 46: The Last Ready Set Rock

Friday morning comes, and I am still so far from ready to face the day. Ross has barely left my side since Monday, but has just gone home to change.
Glancing out the window, I find myself straining my eyes to make out any of the objects below. The sky is incredibly dark, the thick storm clouds casting eerie shadows across the ground. The clouds hang low; looking ready to burst at any second.
This is exactly how I feel inside.
Shuffling into the closet, I grab the dress and shoes I had picked out the night before and quickly change into them. I allow my hair to fall freely down my back; clasping a necklace George had given me around my neck.
"You ready to go?" Ratliff asks, peeking his head through my door.
He is clad in black suit pants, a slate grey shirt, and a black jacket. Any other occasion it would look great on him, but dread of what is to come today weighs down on any positive thing I can find.
The drive to the cemetery takes over an hour, but I wish with all that I am that it could be longer. That we would just keep driving until we find a place where everything is back to the way it was. Where everything was perfect. Where I still had my parents.
The Lynch's wait for us in the parking lot, expressing the slightest bit of happiness towards our arrival. Ross slides his arm around my waist as we walk inside, leaning heavily on me as we walk. It's not hard to tell he's a second away from breaking down, but he's keeping it inside for my sake. As much as I appreciate it, he doesn't need to be strong for me.
"Hello, you must be the Lynch's," a man greets.
"Yeah, that's us."
"Do you have the items you would like to place in the caskets?" The funeral director asks.
"Here," Riker announces, pulling the items from his bag one by one.
The first item he places on the table is a small, well worn book. The words 'Life's Little Handbook by Mark Lynch' are scripted across the front.
"My dad wrote this for us. He said if we remembered these things in life, we'd become the kind of people the world needed," he explains.
"He read to us all the time when we were growing up," Ross murmurs. "They were our words to live by."
Next, he pulls out a bunch of picture frames with photos of both families in various stages of growing up. Tears sting at my eyes as I see the biggest picture is all 11 of us smiling together at the anniversary party. It's almost impossible to believe that was only a week ago.
Rydel pushes forward a piece of pink fabric with the words 'MAMA LYNCH' embroidered in the top corner. "I have the same one," she explains. "We wore them whenever we cooked together."
Ellington hands a set of well worn drumsticks up, saying, "they were my first set. My mom bought them the day I told her I wanted to be a drummer."
"Is that it?" the man asks.
"Yes."
"Thank you to all of you. I'll see to it all of this gets placed in the casket before the service begins."
The seven of us soon begin walking to path towards the service. My feet feel like cement with every step I take, as I am dreading what is about to come with all that I am. Soon, I begin seeing people. A few hundred people dressed in black inhabit the rows of chairs, all talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. We file into the front row, taking our seats just moments before the funeral begins.
"The Lord giveth," the pastor says. "And the Lord taketh away. Mark and Stormie Lynch, and George and Cheryl Ratliff were a prime example of Gods amazing gifts, and it's a shame our time with them was so short. I'd like to now call up the children of these two couples to tell you a bit about their parents."
"Hello, Everyone," Rocky calls out. "We've come so far in these past 5 years. There was so many people along the way that told us we'd never make it and that we should just give up. Our parents were never those people."
"When I wanted to move out to LA to follow my dreams, my mom and dad were behind me. These last five years they have done nothing but support our every hope, dream, and aspiration, and I will never stop being grateful for that," Riker continues.
"They were our best friends, our role models, and so much more. Their unconditional love has kept us going over the years, and we are all so blessed to have been given the time we had with them," Rydel adds.
"They supported us through everything, and always made us feel like we were their number one priority," Ryland murmurs.
"I didn't know them for long," I say, taking a deep breath before continuing. "But it didn't take them long to make a positive impact on your life. Stormie, Mark, Cheryl, and George were amazing people, and they will never be forgotten."
"Rest in paradise, Mom and Dad," Ellington and Ross say together. "You deserve it."