AFTER HOURS

𝟐𝟐

THE FINALE —
a song for mama

JULY

"I'm not a great public speaker, and I never have been. I've also never had to write a eulogy before, and I never expected for the first one I had to write to be for my mother," Syian looks at the fully-packed church, everyone had come together for Dahlia's funeral.

"Although this isn't something I've ever looked forward to, for me to be the one to write it has surprisingly brought me a lot of closure. It helped me come to terms with my mothers death a lot quicker. It helped me not feel as lost through these last two weeks."

Clearing his throat, he began to read the eulogy. "My mother, Dahlia, died on July 2nd, which a lot of you may know as my father, Michael's, birthday."

"My mother was my heart outside of my chest. If she needed anything, I would've gave it to her. If there was any way possible I could help her get better, I would've done anything. Even if I had to drain my body of all the blood it had just for her to have even an ounce of non-poisoned blood, I would give it to her in a second."

"Not only was she the sweetest and most understanding mother, but she was a great wife. There's no doubt she loved everyone she met, but she loved my father more than life. She would do anything for him, and she brung out the best in him. In moments where he couldn't quite understand things, she was there to help him. When he might've wanted to spazz because he didn't like how something was happening, she was right there. Calming him down."

"Our house dynamic worked so well because of my mother. She was always there. She always accepted our wants, even things that may have seemed unlikely. When I wanted to become an astronaut in elementary school, every time she went to the store she would come back with a book or a toy about rockets, space, the Moon, planets, everything."

"I am not ashamed to admit that I am and will always be a mamas boy, there is no one who had a heart the size of hers. She would do anything for anyone she encountered. She was always there for words of encouragement. When I was conflicted when it came to proposing to my wife, she was the person who called me everyday to keep me encouraged, and despite not being there for the engagement, she was with me at every jeweler as I looked for a ring."

Sniffling, he rubbed his nose and continued to read, not wanting anyone to notice his emotions. Brionne noticed, though. Her heart hurt for him. Seeing him lose sleep, be unable to eat, and hearing his constant sobs in his sleep had her heart breaking on another level. She could barely cry when she found out. She didn't want to seem selfish—truth is, she lost a mother also.

"My mother was born Dahlia Monae Clark on November 3rd, 1974 in Crenshaw, California. She was the youngest of three children, and the only one to make it to adulthood. Through her youth, Dahlia kept great grades in school and graduated from high school in 1993 with Honors. Despite her great performance in school, Dahlia did not have the funds to move forward with her education following high school, and did not end up attending college.."

▂

"Here." I walked over to our table, sitting a plate of food down in front of Syian. "You haven't eaten, and you really need to."

Turning towards me, he placed a kiss on my stomach before pushing the plate away. "I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat, though. At least try." I sat down in the chair next to him.