Masterpiece (A Chris Motionless Love Story)

Chapter One - The Funeral

I woke up, dreading the day ahead. It was the day I put my husband to rest, a day I dreaded since I got the news.

"Lilith, are you getting ready? People will start showing up any minute, I unlocked the funeral home." My friend Taylor had been staying with me ever since we got the news. She flew in the moment I called her to be by my side every step of the way.

"Yeah, I'm getting up. If anyone comes in just tell them I'll be right down." I let her know. I sat on the edge of my bed and ran my fingers through my long black hair, then stood up to walk to the bathroom.

"Come on, Lilith. You can do this. You own and operate a funeral home for crying out loud. You know how to deal with this." I gave myself a pep talk as I put on my makeup. The amount of breakdowns I had been having were almost embarrassing. I'm supposed to help families with loss, not go through it, and most definitely not go through it this young.

People started to rush into the funeral home, people I hadn't seen in years, people from high school even. Taylor came over and put her hand on my shoulder as service time came closer.

"Are you ready to close the casket, Lil?" She asked. I sniffled a little and nodded. I gave my husband one last kiss on the forehead, then lowered his head end with the casket key. Taylor held the casket piece as I shut the lid, then she placed it on the center of the casket. I turned and walked back to my seat as the speaker came up to the podium.

It felt like the worst thirty minutes of my life. Hearing my husbands name, over and over through a sermon that I've heard about a million times. It was almost never ending, but I held my composure and wheeled his casket down the aisle to load it into the funeral coach. I was confident that I needed to do all of this on my own, so I didn't have anyone else direct the service. Taylor rode with me in the funeral coach.

"So, what's next after this?" She asked. I just shrugged.

"Where do I go from here? I mean, how do I go back to normal life after losing my husband?" Tears started to come out. She reached over and grabbed my hand.

"You don't. You just find a new norm."

After we finished at the grave I immediately went back to the coach and sat in as Taylor watched them lower the casket down. I couldn't stand to watch it. I had my head on the steering wheel when my thoughts were interrupted by a tapping on the window. I looked up and saw a familiar figure. It was old friend from high school, Chris. I wiped away my tears and rolled the window down.

"Hey, how are you doing? I haven't seen you in years, well in person anyways." I stated as I faked a smile. He smiled back, with care in his eyes.

"I'm doing good, I'd ask you how you are but I think I know. I just wanted to say sorry for your loss, I kept up with you on social media so I know how much you loved him. I also wanted to give you my number in case you need anything. I'll be around Scranton for a few months, so please reach out. I'd hate to see a good friend suffer." He handed me a piece of paper that had messy writing on it, but I could still read it. He smiled and slapped the top of the funeral coach as he turned to walk away. I programmed the number into my phone, knowing I'd probably never use it, but thought just in case.

When we got back to the funeral home I locked everything up, then went right back up stairs. I took off my heels and unzipped my dress, then laid back down.
At some point I must have dozed off because I woke up to my phone ringing nonstop. It was Chris, but how did he get my number? I never even messaged him.

"Lilith, thank god you picked up. Taylor gave me your number at the grave, said something about her having to leave tomorrow so you were my responsibility now?" His words yanked me out of my grogginess.

"Yeah, she's leaving tomorrow, but I should be okay. I have plenty of resources being in the business and all." I explained. He sighed.

"Look, Lil, Taylor is worried. I mean, it's 6pm and you sound like you just woke up. She said you had been sleeping since you got home." He was right, I had been asleep since we got home. "What I'm trying to say is that the band and I are outside the funeral home with food and were wondering if we can come in and eat with you. We can even eat in the bedroom." I reluctantly agreed to let them in as I walked downstairs to unlock the front door. I was still in my sweat pants and one of my husbands shirts. As soon as I opened the door Chris pulled me into a tight hug. It felt nice, he was about as tall as my husband, so it made me feel secure. I melted into his hug basically, then pulled away feeling like the hug was awkwardly too long.

"Uh, let's all go upstairs. It's basically a full on apartment upstairs, so I have my dining table and living room and such up there." I said as I guided them. They all looked around, amazed at my place. Taylor got up off the couch, and I saw her and Chris wink at each other, that's when I knew Taylor had something to do with this.

As we all sat around the table we talked about everything under the sun. We talked about life after high school, their life on the road, and how owning a funeral home was.

"Lil, I was very impressed with everything today. I mean, you did a beautiful job. I'm sorry to bring it up, but it was amazing." Chris complimented. I smiled and held back tears. Chris grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"We better get home, but hey, I'll pick you up in the morning for breakfast, sound good?" Chris said as he grabbed his coat.

"Yeah that sounds great. It will be good to get out." I agreed. She smiled at me and gave me a tight hug, then kissed the top of my head.

"Get some rest, Lilith! We're gonna have quite the day tomorrow!" He shouted as they walked out. I locked the door behind them, then went back upstairs.

As I laid in bed my mind raced. Was it too early to be hanging out with another guy, even if there weren't any feelings involved? What if people start talking? I eventually was able to calm my racing thoughts and came to the conclusion that maybe the universe was lining things up. Maybe things would get better.