Rain drizzles down on me as I stand beside my friends. Across from me sits a large group of mourners- all close family and friends. Right in the front row in the middle, sits a beautiful brunette with a hat providing a lace veil over her face.
"The Lords gives and the Lord takes away." The ministers monotone voice drones.
It's the same shitty line over and over again. Reminding us that God likes to take things away does not make anyone feel better, so just shut up already.
"Dude, stop rolling your eyes." My friend Dawson whispers.
Shit, didn't mean to visibly roll my eyes.
The minister keeps talking and the rain keeps falling, but I can only focus on one thing- the crying brunette right across from me. A man with silver hair, her father I'm assuming, wraps an arm around her in an attempt to provide comfort. This small action causes the mourning woman to cry harder, pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle the sound. People all around me cry, even my fellow Seals, yet I find myself not able to shed a tear. I've been to so many of these funerals, I don't even cry anymore. It doesn't mean that I'm apathetic and don't feel the pain-God I feel all the pain- I just never cry anymore. Somewhere along the way, I just stopped.
After the twenty one gun salute, the minister closes us out in prayer and people begin shuffling around, the graveside service over.
"I can't believe Mikey's gone. I can't imagine going back into the field without his annoying ass." Dawson says, pretending that he didn't just cry in front of us all.
"Dawson, you can't call him annoying at his own funeral!" Richards complains. His pale skin seems extra pale and his red hair extra red amongst the sea of black clad mourners.
I offer a humorless chuckle. "No, Mikey would love it. All of us cracking jokes. He'd hate all this crying and shit."
Brian Michaels, or Mikey, was the youngest guy on our Seal team. He's was annoying and loud, but he had a heart of gold and the mind of a warrior. He died when he laid on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow soldiers, myself included. As much as we teased him and messed with him, we all loved Mikey dearly and my God will he be missed.
"I'm going to go talk to Renee, offer her my condolences and everything." I say, slapping Dawson on the back and shaking Richards hand in goodbye.
Making my way across the damp grass, I stand in front of Renee, who's still in her seat wiping away tears. Her swollen belly sticks out, reminding us all of what Mikey missed out on.
"Renee." I say, my voice suddenly thick with unchecked emotion.
"Will, thank you so much for coming." She stands and wraps me up in a tight embrace. Renee is much like her husband, always putting other people first.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss this for the world."
She offers me a sad smile and wipes away a tear that slipped away.
"Hey, please let me know if you need anything. I owe Mikey everything, and I promised to look out for you guys."
She nods. "Of course, thank you so much."
Looking down at the small figure still sitting, my heart breaks all over again. I pull the dog tags out of my pocket and crouch down.
"Hey, Mia. Remember me?" I ask.
YOU ARE READING
Saving Grace
ChickLitTwo strangers. Two strangers whose lives were forever changed on the same day a year ago. Grace's perfect life that she built for herself was ripped away, leaving her heartbroken and struggling. Will made a mistake that ended up affecting everyone a...
