Aftermath

Chapter 2-Part 2

Author Notes: I've decided to change Lou's youngest son, Beau's name to 'Bo'...she is from Georgia not Montreal and would spell it in a Southern fashion, not French--my mistake. 

*So for the record, 'Bo' is her younger son, Cameron, 'Cam' is her older.

Second small note for my spell check and typo buddies: The hockey team The Montreal Canadiens is spelled with an 'iens' ending (French spelling) rather than the 'ian' the proper English spelling...or at least that's how any die-hard Canadiens fan spells it

Recap...violent attempted kidnapping by Columbian gunmen resulted in a near fatal injury to a young Swedish tourist Paul. Emmylou, 'Lou', an average girl next door, wife and mother, was able to shoot the gunmen and free the other hostages, although not before her husband was killed.

continuation of 'No Homecoming'....

"Here you go, Mrs. McKindly. My condolences, madame." The Canadian Customs agent handed her the release papers, shaking Lou out of her foggy memories. The flash backs of the assault were vivid, the memory of the first week of carefree vacation a blur.

"Merci," she mumbled. Would she ever get used to people treating her like a victim—a person to be pitied and gawked at.

With her husband's death certificate in her hand, she slowly turned from the counter, not sure if she had the strength to take the next step forward. Carter's body was waiting for her in a special wing of the airport...she had to go make sure the funeral home had sent a van...Good lord she hoped it wasn't a hearse. After giving his family in Montreal the opportunity to see him one last time and say good-bye, Lou had told the funeral home her wishes were for Carter to be cremated...hardest decision she ever had to make alone, but Carter had wanted his own mother cremated, so she thought that's what he'd want for himself.

While still in Panama, Trey had called all their friends and family back home in both Montreal and Savannah and they then decided to have the memorial service for Carter in Montreal since the majority of his family were there and maybe they would later have a small second memorial in Georgia for all the friends that would not be able to come up north.

Five days after Carter's death and she was back in Montreal, ten-centimeters of new spring snow had fallen overnight and now it was raining. Delightful, the weather reflected her miserable state perfectly. The roads would be a slushy, muddy mess. Lou hated this time of year and painfully pined for spring time in her beloved Georgia.

Eloise, Trey and Lilly never left Lou or her boys' side. Her sister and her family had changed all their plans to return home to Savannah and had instead escorted her and her boys home to Montreal. They'd stay until after the funeral and Wezzie insisted they'd stay as long as she needed them.

Walking out of the high security door, on the way to the exit, a man claiming to be a lawyer accosted her.

"Mrs. McKindly, sorry for your loss. I'm Stanley Davidson from Davis and Davidson." The aggressive, middle age, tight three-piece suit jammed a card in my hands, which were already stuffed with paperwork. "We would like to offer our services and be your official representation."

Lou hadn't slept more than a few hours over the last few days. She was foggy on what her last conversation was with the people at the embassy in Panama that helped her with the death certificate and arranging travel home for them as quickly as possible.

"Are you from the U.S Embassy?"

"No, Mrs. McKindly. I'm a private attorney that specializes in media relations and cross border law suits."

Lou started walking again and offered back the card. "You have me mistaken with someone else. I don't need a lawyer. Excuse me." She stepped around him and walked to the exit. Trey had offered to go with her to the hanger to attend to the release of Carter's remains to the funeral home. Carter's sister Clare had offered to pick up Eloise and the children; so they could be taken straight home. The kids were exhausted and didn't need to be dragged around the airport after a travel coffin.