the service was beautiful. eddie had no complaints. he never did.
his mothers casket was white, as were the roses in the bouquets that littered the church hall.
she was buried with her bible, brown moleskin covered, her name etched on the inner cover. eddie couldn't remember her having another bible. she took it with her everywhere.
eddie knew the good book cover to cover. sonia kaspbrak wouldn't have had it any other way. he sat, staring at the casket, from the front pew of the church he'd grown up in, reciting john fourteen, brokenly, under his breath.
let not your heart be troubled. i am the way, and the truth, and the life. let not your heart be troubled. i am the way, and the truth, and the life. let not your heart be troubled. i am the way, and the truth, and the life.
eddie's suit was black, his face pale and dry. he'd been paid many condolences that day, he wished that they'd cease.
he didn't want to hear about how wonderful of a woman his mother was in life, he didn't care about how much she'd been loved, even in death.
eddie knew the woman that his mother was, and she was nothing like the woman that this church knew. as much as eddie wished she'd been.
but eddie smiled, albeit sadly, when people shared their love, said his thanks when they offered their aid with what came next, and promised he'd be at the next service come sunday.
he'd never missed a service. he'd been at this church almost as much as he'd been at his own home.
eddie barely noticed that it was time before they put his mother in the ground. he was vacant. he felt as though he was floating, but he always did. floating felt normal for eddie kaspbrak.
as much as he felt he was floating, he wished that he truly was. eddie wished he could fly away from here, go somewhere else. start anew.
but he watched on, watched as they lowered her coffin. watched as they covered it with dirt. watched as the people around him left, and went back to normalcy.
all while his mother lay dead in the ground.
and before eddie knew it, a week had passed. then two.
"uh, hello. i'm calling about a prescription?" eddie's voice came through the receiver softly.
"sure! how can i help you?" the woman on the other end chimed brightly.
"um, well, its a few prescriptions actually. im due for a refill on all of my medication and i went to the pharmacy today and they said that they hadn't received a refill request on any of it, besides my antipsychotic ."
"okay, can you go ahead and give me your name?" eddie heard clicking from the other end.
"yeah, edward kaspbrak. k-a-s-p-b-r-a-k."
"alright, mr. kaspbrak. so, i'm not seeing any prescription history for you here besides the antipsychotic. are you sure you've called the right office?" eddie's brows furrowed. he was sure of it.
"uh, yeah. i've been going there since i was a child. are you sure?"
"could i ask what prescriptions you've been taking and i'll page your doctor? see if we can get to the bottom of this."
"um, yeah. i've been on ciclesonide, prednisone, valium, and tegretol. and my doctor is david mitchell."
"and those are used to treat what conditions?"
"my asthma, muscular dystrophy, and epilepsy. and my personality disorder. but they refilled my tegretol."
"right, so let me call dr. mitchell and see what we can do for you, alright? i'll put you on hold."
