Top & Bottom
Craig--Stephanie--Jace
Candy--August--Mina
Stephanie
We all exited out of the cemetery. They buried him in a family mausoleum. Today was Anthony's funeral, it was hard on everyone. Anthony was going to be missed dearly and Erin as already asking where he was and why she hadn't seen him in awhile. There was no way I could tell her that the was coming back, so I just told her that papa Anthony was gone to heaven with poppy David.
August and I had both lost our fathers, so I could fully understand what he was going through. I was shocked that he hadn't pushed me away yet. He grieved but he allowed himself to stay open to me, which I was grateful for. Losing a parent was hard and I knew this for a fact.
"Are you hungry baby?" I asked August as we walked to the car.
He shook his head and licked his lip. "Na, not really. But mama said something about getting some food. Ion really feel up to it."
I nodded and picked Erin up, putting her in the car as Laya got in on the other side. Laya had been quiet for a couple of days now. As we got in the car, we followed Sheila to a restaurant that she had picked.
Nobody was really hungry but we decided to go anyway. Erin had been crying all morning and Laya had been standoffish even with August. August was very quiet but we had all been trying to prepare ourselves for this anyway.
As walked into the restaurant, we were met with familiar faces. Craig, Mina, Candy and Jace were all there. The brought a little smile to Aug's face. Laya went to Jace and Erin went to Craig.
"How ya holding up man?" Jace said, standing up dapping August.
August shrugged. "I'm hea."
Jace reached out to give August a brotherly hug and the others followed suit. I walked over to Sheila and gave her a hug. She didn't look too well at all but I could tell she was trying to stay strong. August and Laya stayed all night with her the night Anthony passed.
"Are you ok Ms. Sheila?" I asked, still holding on to her.
She sighed and shrugged. "I guess, I'm going to have to be. My baby is gone Stephanie. I loved him so much." She sobbed on to my shoulder.
I rubbed her back and let a few tears fall as well. I didn't even want to think about it.
After calming her down a bit, I walked over to Mina and Candy. we shared a hug and they asked me how everything was going, I told the truth. It was going ok but things could be better.
"Shit has just gone left man." Candy sighed, shaking her head.
"I know. Daddy Anthony gone. How is Aug really doing?" Mina asked, laying her face in her hand.
I twisted my mouth to the side and looked down at my menu.
"He is doing ok, he is doing better than I thought he would be. Or least he's doing better than I was. He's very strong, he has his moments but he doesn't push me away and I'm happy about that."
They nodded and looked at their menu as well. While I talked with the girls and August talked with the guys, we kept eyeing each other. He would smile and looked down and I would do the same. It was like we were seeing each other for the first time. I had no idea what was going on but I just felt the need to be alone with him.
"Y'all need a room?" Candy asked, playfully snarling at me.
I giggled and played with my straw. "No."
