Forgotten

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

   Jenna walked into the morgue with black dress pants on and a dark blue blouse. She felt the cool material of the spandex blouse that hung on her body, not knowing if the chills were from the blouse or the cool air in the morgue. She continued down the halls until she got to a hall with a door cracked open and voices coming from within. She stuck her head in and saw Dave and Caleb stood in front of a beautifully made casket.

   As Jenna walked in, she kept her eyes on the casket as the men’s light chatter slowed to a stop. She walked slowly to it and lightly brushed her fingers across the corner. Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned as she turned to Caleb. “She can’t be buried in this can she? It will break after a few seconds with the dirt piling on.”

   Caleb walked over to the casket and looked at it. “We will put it in a sturdy box after the funeral, before they are buried.”

   Jenna looked down at the elegant glass casket. It was completely made of glass with a gold framing, and the top was forming a dome with five rectangles of perfectly clear glass. Inside was a beige, silk cushioning on the bottom and a matching pillow.

   On the pillow lay a beautiful woman with shining red hair that flowed past her shoulders. Her face was reconstructed and she looked just as she did when she was safe at home with her husband. Her bruises had been covered with makeup and light freckles peeked through the light powder. Flowing across her body was a simple, but gorgeous white dress that spread down below her ankles and she had on white flats that covered her toes.

   Jenna put her hand to her mouth to hold back a whimper. She looked at Lena’s chest and there laid a small, delicate babe. He was only about the size of Lena’s hand. He wore a very pale blue onesie with Lena’s hands resting on his back and bottom, as if she was holding him there. Jenna wanted so badly for the baby to squirm in his mother’s embrace and for Lena to caress him, sing to him and whisper “I love you” in his ear.

   When Jena took a step back from the casket, she ran into Daren who had come in without a sound. She turned around and saw his face twist with emotion when he saw his wife and her son.

   “Lena,” he whispered, “and our sweet baby boy.”

   Jenna knew that the baby was not his, but didn’t say anything as he walked up to the casket and placed both hands on the top, peering in. She knew he thought of that baby as his own, for he and his wife were one.

   Dave put a hand on Jenna’s shoulder and led her out of the room for Daren to have some time alone.

   Before they opened the door to leave, Daren spoke, “No, don’t go on account of me.” He turned back to face them. “I guess I should go change for the funeral. Thank you Caleb for the work you did to make this so special.”

***

   Brandon put on his black suit jacket and straightened his tie. Letting out a breath, he stared at himself in the mirror. Never before had he gone to the funeral of a victim. California was too big to ever have a personal connection with the families of the victims. Here in Anderson, things were different. Daren and Lena were a part of the same small town that he had grown up in. In a small town, it only seemed right to be there for a man who lost his wife.

   He took one last glance at his reflection and grabbed his keys, wallet, and bible. He drove to the church, his heart pounding in his ears as his head throbbed with a growing headache. Before he left his car to head into the church, he prayed for peace in Daren’s heart as well as his own.

   Slowly walking in the church, he saw women and children dressed in black and long faces following his footstep to the front steps. Some dabbed the corners of their eyes as they walked and some hung their heads.