“I don’t think she likes me.” She whispers and glances over her shoulder to where Jack and Penn are in line.
“No, she’s just wary of everyone.”
“Yeah, okay. And are you sure Beth won’t mind that I’m here”
“I’m not sure she’ll even notice.” She called Nadia with the news that her father died. When I heard, I felt as much grief I would feel for any distant relation who died. But when Penn asked if I wanted to go the funeral, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.
Not for him. I came for Beth and… Phil. I just want to make sure she’s okay. As we get close to the front of the line, she finally comes into view.
She’s not crying, but her grief is palpable. Her eyes are bloodshot, bleak, and unfocused. She’s pale, and the black suit she’s wearing looks too big for her.
Phil is on the right of her. He’s dressed in all black in a suit that’s definitely not off the rack, and his hair looks like he just stepped out of a salon. But he’s wearing the same shell-shocked expression Beth is. He’s stoic, barely acknowledging the people who are shaking his hand. On her left is a woman whose face is covered by a black veil. She’s sobbing loudly and clutching a handkerchief to her mouth. Duke is conspicuously absent.
When it’s our turn, I shake the sobbing lady’s hand first. She clutches my hand and tilts her head upward so her face is turned toward mine. I can’t see her face clearly through the veil, but I smile awkwardly. “Sorry for your loss,” I say, and she nods and starts to cry again.
I step in front of Beth, and she puts her hand out automatically.
“Thank you for coming,” she says numbly without looking up.
I take her hand and squeeze it. “Beth, I’m so sorry,” I say, and her head snaps up. Her eyes widen with surprise and then fill with tears.
“Carter,” she mouths my name and squeezes my hand. ”What are you doing here?”.
I cup her cheek and wipe the tear that trails down it. “I’m here for you.”
Porsha nudges me, and I look at her. She nods at my hand with a tight smile on her face.
I drop my hand and Beth clutches hers together in her lap.
“I’m sorry about your dad, Beth,” Porsha says.
“Thank you for coming.” Beth extends a hand, and Porsha’s eyes soften and a small smile lifts the left corner of her mouth. “It’s nice of you to say that.”
She looks back at me. “When are you leaving?”
“After the funeral tomorrow. How about you? Are you staying?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll be back in New York in a week or two.”
“Why has the line stopped moving?” Duke’s voice booms across the room as he strides in. Everyone shifts down a seat and he drops his visibly drunk body into the chair next to her and looks up at me with cold eyes. “How nice of you to come.” He doesn’t spare Porsha a second glance before he turns to address the person next her.
“I’ll see you when I get back to the city,” Beth says.
“Okay.” I give her a small smile and move down to Phil.
“Hey, man.”
“Hey, thank you for coming,” His eyes are hollow and unfocused. I feel guilty for not being even slightly moved by Andrew Wolfe’s passing, and I don’t want to linger here anymore.
When we get to the front door, I look back at her one more time. She’s shaking hands. I hate leaving her here. She is alone. She looks wrecked.
“She’ll be okay.” Porsha puts a hand on my shoulder as if she can read my mind.
I nod and I start to turn around when I catch Duke watching me with open contempt on his face. He looks away when we make eye contact, the muscle jumping in his cheek tells me I didn’t imagine what I saw.
We’re walking down the porch steps to wait for the rest of our party. “So, she’s married to Biff Tannen’s doppelgänger?”
I chuckle at the movie reference. “Yeah.”
“He hates you.” She says.
“We have a complicated history.”
“I don’t think it’s history, at all.” she says and she looks at me with sad eyes. “You’ve got stuff to figure out.”
I sigh and nod. “I know.”
“And we should probably break up.”
I nod. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. You’re much nicer than your brother.”
I look at her askance. “What does that mean?”
“Ugh, that was awful” Penn groans when they come out onto