Part One
The funeral was simple and somber. I never realised how many lives my mother touched with her smile, her joy, and her warmth. I know that more often than not she is- was portrayed as a cold, heartless woman who used people to get her own way, but it was never like that.
But maybe I�m being too biased. Dad used to say that motherhood had mellowed her out a lot. So, maybe before the birth of my older brother she could have been that kind of person. But I know my Mom, and I know that she would never have done those things that they say about her. How could she have? Besides, most of those reports come from people who never even knew her, the real Stephanie. There was a side to her that only her closest friends and family were ever privileged to see � her fun, silly side.
That�s the side I remember most about my mother. Around the house, with me and my brother, with her bestfriend, Mary, with Dad (although, for awhile there, it was a little tough). And especially with Chris.
Want to know something a little screwy? Chris is my biological father, but I call him by his name. �Dad� is Hunter. He was the man who raised me until I was six years old, and no one can take that away from him, not even Chris. I call Hunter �Dad� because I grew up calling him that. I had believed he was my father all along. Well, that and the fact that I had blatantly refused to stop calling him Dad, even after everything had been explained to me. It wasn�t that I resented Chris, it was more that I never knew any other father for the first six years of my life, and all of a sudden I was suddenly supposed to start calling some stranger �Dad�? Mom never forced me to call Chris �Dad�.
I love both Hunter and Chris, and I believe myself the luckiest person in the world to have two such great, wonderful fathers.
�Honey? Are you in here?�
I quickly wipe away the stray tears, and turn to face Cade, forcing a small smile. I think it looked more like a grimace more than anything. �Yeah, I�m here.�
The wake is being held at the house, and almost immediately after getting here, I disappeared. I just want some time to myself.
He walks into the room, my old room, and sits beside me on the bed. He wraps a supportive arm around me, and I lay my head on his shoulder. He doesn�t say anything, and I love him for that. He knows exactly what to say in any situation, and when not to say anything at all.
For the longest time we just sit there, remembering. He reaches over by the bedside table and picks up the photo that had always sat there. It was one of those double frames, with a hinge in the middle so that you can open it as wide as you like. On the left side is a picture of Mom and Dad on their wedding day, and on the other, Mom and Chris on their wedding day.
�She�s beautiful,� Cade tells me. �There�s an eighteen year difference between the two pictures, yet it almost seems like they were taken on the same day.�
I also stare at the two photos. Mom is smiling brightly in both photos. In the picture with Dad she�s sitting on the top of the chair of the passenger side of a convertible, smiling brightly at the camera. The car is parked in front of a Las Vegas drive-through chapel. I can�t make out what the place is called. It was kind of funny, actually. Mom and Dad weren�t really meant to have gotten married. It was for on-screen purposes only. But both were extremely impulsive, and they had returned to the same chapel a couple of hours later and had really gotten married. It was�romantic � in it�s own way.
In the picture with Chris, she�s fully decked out in a beautiful white satin and lace wedding gown, a diamond tiara headpiece, and holding an amazing arrangement of red, yellow, pink and white roses. But it was her smile that made Cade comment on the difference of the two photos. Or rather, lack of difference. It was the same smile that those closest to her got to see when she was in her fun, silly mood.
�I miss her already,� I whisper. �I still can�t believe she�s really gone.�
�I know. She was a wonderful lady.� Cade returned the frame back on the table. He pauses for awhile. �People are looking for you. Do you want me to tell them that you�re resting?�
I�m really not in the mood to meet people, but I know that I�m not the only one in pain due to such a massive loss. Besides, I hadn�t really had the chance to talk to anyone the past few days.
�No, it�s okay. I�ll come down,� I tell him, taking a deep breath to ready myself.
�Are you sure?� he asks, concerned.
I smile, nodding. �I�m okay. It�ll be fine.�
Cade hesitates a few seconds, and then nods back. He kisses me briefly, whispers that he loves me in my ear, and then we leave the room.
