Funeral

Funeral - part 4

Those words that he said made me feel so.....weird.

I felt happy, enraged, excited and annoyed all at once. My hands acted on their own accord so instead of the potato, the knife ran over my finger.

"Bloody hell!" I yelled out as I drew my fingers away from the peeler, making it fall from my fingers onto the table.

"Are you okay? Where's the first aid kit?" Mr Ambrose asked.

"There, in the drawer!"

He walks, more like runs, over to the drawer to look for the first aid kit. I sit there and clutch my stinging finger, for a minute when he finally comes.

"Okay, look into my eyes and don't look down" he instructs.

"Why?"

"Just trust me," he says.

I look up and into his beautiful eyes. They're so captivating. I can feel myself get lost in those dark orbs. Suddenly, I feel a damp cloth touch my finger, making me cry out in pain. My shriek is silenced by his lips. One of his hand keeps the damp cloth on my finger, while the other plays with my hair. I know it's wrong. My husband just died, but I respond to the kiss.

A few minutes in, he pulls his lips away from me, and I see that the tips of his ears are beet red. My face would have been red, if not for my tanned skin. His free hand brushes away the strands of hair away from my face, making this cliché moment even more cliché then it already was. He slowly leaned in again.

"Mom?" Harry asks.

Surprised, I break apart from Mr Ambrose and turn to look at Harry, who had Mia in his arms. Just as soon as I looked at her, she turned to look at me.

"Mama, where's Dada?" she asks me. "He pwomised me that he'd come home in 3 weeks. It's fouw weeks."

Tears form in my eyes, and I walk towards her. Harry hands her over to me, and I scoop her up in my arms.

"Mia, your dada is the bravest man in this world. He was protecting - making sure that you and your friends and their families are safe" I explain. "And when he was doing that, bad people...."

My voice fades away as I think of what words to use that could explain that her father was stabbed to death.

"Bad people..they um..sent him to heaven." Mr Ambrose adds from behind me.

"No. You're wying Dada pwomised me!" she sobs, squirming in my arms.

"Mia, your dada hasn't left you."

"You just said he went to heaven!" she shrieks.

"He may not be here, and you may not see him, but he'll always be here" I say, pointing to her heart. "He'll always visit you in the land of dreams, and you'll always see and hear him in the ocean of memories. Mon Amour, he will always be a part of you."

"Pwomise?" she asks.

"I promise" I whisper.

"I wuv you mama," she says, "and I wuv you Hawwy."

Harry joins our little group hug, and Mr Ambrose just stands there awkwardly. I nod at him, asking him to join the hug, but he refuses. Typical of him. The kids finally break apart, and Mr Ambrose clears his throat.

"Harry and Mia, I may not be your real father, but I promise, if you ever give me the chance to, I will try and love you just as much as he loved you." he says, his ears tinted red.

Harry rolled his eyes, "You have a crush on my mom don't you?" When he says that I had to bite my lip to stifle the giggle that was bursting out.

"A crush? What is that?"

"A brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattaitable" Harry explains.

"Infatuation? That's what you think? I love your mother," he says. "And I will never stop loving her, as cheesy as it sounds, it's true."

"You're not allowed to touch my mother," Harry says, and I roll my eyes. Typical son.

"Unless she has the same feelings for you" he adds and turns to look at me. "Mom?"

"I love him too. I love him with everything I have. And I too, won't stop loving him," I say. "But, I won't ever take a big step unless you and Mia are perfectly fine with it."

"What?" Mia asks.

"Mia, do you want a new daddy?" Harry asks her.

"A new daddy? Is that happenable?" Mia asks.

"Happenable isn't a word," Harry says, "But yes, it is possible."

"Does that mean that mama won't look like a zolmbie?" she asks and my eyes widen. I do not look like a zombie!

"Yes," Harry says.

"Does that mean that da-da won't be my daddy anymore?" she asks, her voice sad.

"Technically..."

That makes Mia stop talking. After a few minutes of silence, she opens her mouth to speak...