Chapter 3
One week later…
Mila set it up for Max’s funeral to be private with just family and a few close friends.
So far, things were pretty quiet in town.
After making it clear that she, along with Rose and Finn, would be taking over, people pretty much accepted what was.
Everyone knew that the family was grieving, so they gave them the space to do so.
That didn’t stop the house from being flooded with cakes, cookies, pies, and a plethora of flower bouquets with condolence cards.
Max was respected, and many people were going to miss him and everything that he did for his community.
The church was starting to fill with people.
Mila stood regal at the front door, dressed to the nines in an all-black Chanel pantsuit and matching red-bottom pumps.
She wore her hair slicked back away from her face, pinned in a bun above her neck.
The pearls on her neck were a gift from her late husband, and she fingered them nervously while standing there, welcoming people inside.
Minx ran around anxiously making sure that everything was arranged how her mother asked.
In her black Dolce she needed to keep busy.
If she sat, she could hear her thoughts, and they were loud, deafening even.
Right now, doing something else quieted the darkness that awaited her.
Funerals gave a sense of finality. It wasn’t until after that many people even began to accept what happened.
Max was such a larger-than-life man. It was hard to fathom a world without him in it.
Mila had an ache inside that she knew she would have to figure out how to live with.
She would never love anyone else the way that she loved her husband, and it frustrated her how much time she had wasted being angry all the time.
The kitchen counters were stocked with every dish and dessert she could think of.
Mille sat at the circle table, just staring off, while older women came up to him to give him condolences.
He barely brought his eyes up to acknowledge anyone.
Minx hovered at the island in the kitchen, chewing fruit from a platter in front of her and watching her little brother.
Rose’s presence could be felt before he even came up behind her.
When his cologne hit her nostrils, she couldn’t help but close her eyes.
His arm slid around her waist, and he pulled her back against his chest.
“I’m worried about him,” Minx voiced, eyes on Mille.