Through the Storm

Chapter 7

A good part of the funeral went by in a blur. Shannon would tune in and out to what people were saying. She had overheard someone say Ryan was definitely not coming home now. She thought it was a cruel thing to say. No not thought, she knew. Why would someone say that at a funeral? Shannon had wanted to turn her car around when she seen the church. She knew Ryan was dead, but seeing the church made it even more real. This feeling was probably going to feel worse when they made it to the cemetery.

                She was almost tempted to ask her dad to drive her when it was time to go to the cemetery because she didn’t know if she would have the strength to drive back, but she didn’t. When they finally made it to the cemetery, all Shannon did was stare at the casket. Her husband was in there. In a few moments, they would lay him in the ground. She felt her dad grab her hand, and she squeezed it. She needed to hold on to something so that she wouldn’t fall to the ground. She needed something to keep her standing. She squeezed his hand until her knuckles turned white and then she finally let go.

                She looked away from the casket and looked down at the ground. All of a sudden, a soldier come up to her and handed her a folded up flag. And then a few moments later, she heard the guns go off one last time. When they went off, it felt like one of the bullets went strait through her heart. She had held back the tears, but she couldn’t anymore. So she just let the tears fall. She stroked the folded up flag. This was all she had left of Ryan. A folded up flag was all she had left.

                She felt something hug her legs, and she looked down. It was Faith. And then she felt the baby kick. No, Shannon. The flag wasn’t the only thing she had left of Ryan. She had her kids. Her children and Ryan’s. She bent down and picked up Faith. She held onto her daughter with all she had left, and they cried together. Earlier she wasn’t for sure if Faith knew what was going on, but now she knew. Faith knew exactly what was going on. Her three-in-a-half year old knew exactly what was going on. Faith burried her face into Shannon’s shoulder.

                Finally, it was over. She walked to her car and buckled Faith in and then drove home. All she heard was stattick on the radio, so she turned the channel. All of a sudden, Carrie Underwood’s song Just a Dream started to play. Shannon turned it off as quick as possible. She knew the song, and she didn’t want to hear it. It was about a wife who lost her husband in the war. And Shannon didn’t want to hear it. She used to love that song, but she didn’t anymore.

 ****

                                Through the whole funeral, Tracy watched her daughter. It looked like she was in a trance through the whole thing. She could tell that Shannon didn’t want to be there. To be honest, Tracy really didn’t want to be there. She hated funerals. Not only that, but Tracy really wasn’t feeling well.

                All of them ended up going to Ricks and her house. When they got there, Shannon had asked if she could go lie down since she was tired. They all were; it had been a long day. Shannon took Faith – who was sleeping – and went into her room to sleep. Tracy and Rick also went into their room.

                “Rick, do think Shannon will be all right? I mean, today she looked like she would never recover.” Tracy told her husband.

                “Yeah, well, she did bury her husband today; that might explain the look. But she will recover. She will; she’s a strong girl. She’ll get through this.”

                “I hope you’re right.”

                “Tracy, honey, are you feeling ok because you look really pale?” Rick said with a worried look on his face.

                “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired,” she lied to him. She didn’t want him to know that she was aching everywhere. She didn’t want him to worry.

                “Ok.” She knew that he knew that she wasn’t feeling very well. But he went with it anyway.

                She laid her head down on Rick’s chest and closed her eyes. Rick started to stroke her hair. It reminded her of the time that Dulton tried to take advantage of her. That night if it wasn’t for Rick, she would have been raped by a guy she thought loved her. After Rick had punched the guy, he pulled her into a hug and started stroking her hair – just like he was doing right now. Rick was always there for her. Through thick and thin, he was always there. He stood by her when no one else did; he believed in her when no one else did. He was always there for her. She fell asleep a few minutes later.

                                                                                           ****

                Rick heard Tracy’s deep breathing and knew she was sleeping. He knew she wasn’t feeling well. That’s why he wanted to come home. Not only that, but Shannon needed to get out of there too. During the funeral, he thought she was going to pass out because she was so pale. Now he had both of his girls – or all three of his girls if you count Faith – under one roof.

                He looked at the clock; it was 5:30. He held Tracy close and closed his eyes. Several moments later he ended up falling asleep.