10. Indie #2
He’s been staying at his parents' house some nights, his mother insisting she needs him under the roof, terrified he’ll too pass in his sleep. So I’ve been sleeping alone at my apartment, but trying to be there for him as much as I can.
Today was the funeral.
After Ellie got her cancer diagnosis, she planned everything for her funeral—flowers, readings, music, her outfit, her hair, her makeup, the exact statements she wanted made and by whom.
Dawn, Robin, and June were not chosen to speak, but two of Ellie’s lifelong friends were—Dina and Ronnie. They talked about her like she was exactly what she had been—bright, funny, stubborn, free, and a complete cheat at card games.
It took me by surprise when both of them mentioned how proud Ellie was of her family, particularly her granddaughters, Stephanie and Danielle, her grandson Teddy, and—to my shock—me, Indie.
“Her granddaughter in every way that counted.”
I could feel eyes turn toward me then, some warm, some curious.
And some were… cold.
I sat in the row behind Teddy, his family filling the front pew. I could see the moment he started crying, his broad shoulders shaking beneath his black suit jacket. When I reached forward and laid my hand on his shoulder, he would calm as my touch steadied him.
Then his mother would start wailing, crying loudly enough to echo through the church. Teddy would wrap his arm around her, and she would bury her face into his shoulder and cry harder.
At one point, I couldn’t help myself. I laid my hand on her shoulder too, just a show of support. Sometimes people just need to know they aren’t alone. She stiffened under my touch and patted my hand—a little too hard. I suppose it was meant to be a thank you, but it felt like a slap.
She kept hold of Teddy through the entire service, all the way to the graveside where Ellie was laid to rest beside Ted, and all the way back to the car afterward.
Teddy sent me a soft look as he got into the car with his mother and father.
“Can you ride with Steph and Danielle?” he asked quietly.
I nodded.
Stephanie and Danielle had been holding it together pretty well, both seeming to understand that this wasn’t a particularly horrible thing.
Sometimes death is a needed release.
Sometimes people just want to go.
When we got back to the house, Dawn finally let go of Teddy and slipped seamlessly into hostess mode.
She directed the caterers, greeted each person who came through the door, dabbed at her eyes with a tissue when condolences were offered, and then settled herself in the living room to receive mourners like a queen.
Stephanie got a migraine and went upstairs to lie down in the dark. Danielle stood in a corner with her husband, Connell, a tall Irishman with black hair and solemn dark eyes, his arm wrapped around her while he hummed something low and sad into her hair. The sound made my chest ache.
Teddy finds me, making a beeline for me the second he spots me, absentmindedly nodding at the people expressing their sorrow as he passes. He exhales when he reaches me, his whole body going slack for one brief second. I wrap my arms around him and hold him together.
Like I have been.
Like I always will.
“Hi, honey,” he says, his voice scraped raw.
I cradle his cheek and brush my thumb beneath his eye, wiping away the tracks his tears left there before kissing the damp skin.
“Hey, Teddy bear,” I whisper.
The tiny smile widens just a little.
“It was a beautiful service.”
He swallows hard and nods. “She would’ve been happy.”
“She was happy,” I tell him softly. “All the way to the end.”
His smile reaches his eyes for one flickering second, and his hand spreads across my lower back, pulling me against him.
“I wouldn’t have gotten through today without you,” he murmurs against my temple. “Thank you, Indie.”
“I’d do anything for you, Teddy.”
The front door opens. An impeccably dressed brunette woman, around Dawn’s age, steps inside in a fitted black coat and heels that click sharply against the hardwood.
Dawn spots her and claps, smiling brightly.
“Colleen,” she squeals, rushing over while the two women air-kiss each other’s cheeks.
Behind her is a petite brunette who looks like a younger version of the woman. Her big brown eyes scan the house before landing on Teddy in my arms, and they light up as she walks toward us.
“Theo?” she says, her voice light and sweet.
Up close, she’s very pretty. Long brown hair styled into loose curls, big eyes, glossy lips, a black dress that shows off her tiny waist and petite figure.
Teddy turns and blinks before recognition crosses his face.
“Lily,” he says, his voice polite but quiet. “Hey. Thank you for coming.”
She bounces toward him and wraps her arms around his shoulders, squeezing a little too tightly, if his wince is any indication.
Teddy pats her back once, awkward and polite, bending down to accommodate her height. She holds on just a second too long before finally letting go.
“Oh my God, of course,” she beams. “Anything for you, Theo.”
Anything for you.
My lips press together. They’re supportive words, and I’m glad that Teddy has all the support he can get—his friends Luke and Heath and a couple of other college friends sitting in the corner, nursing glasses of wine—but there’s something in her tone that’s… off.
Teddy clears his throat and turns to me.
“Honey, this is Lily, she’s—”
“Theo’s best friend,” she supplies brightly, reaching out a hand toward me. “Lily Jacobs. And you are?”
I blink.
Theo’s best friend?
If you asked Teddy who his best friend was, I think he’d say Heath. Or Luke. Or maybe even me.
Still, I don’t want to be rude, so I take her hand.
“Nice to meet you—”
“Oh wow,” Lily interrupts, laughing a little too brightly. “You have such big hands. And such a strong grip.”
She shakes her hand out when I let go, like I genuinely hurt her, and a small, stupid hurt hits me square in the chest.
“Oh,” I say awkwardly. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Oops, sorry! That was so rude!” Lily giggles, a little too loudly, catching the attention of the nearby clusters of people. “Sometimes my mouth moves faster than my brain. Ugh, it gets me into trouble all the time. My friends tell me it’s cute, but I think it’s annoying.”
I just nod, not sure what to do with all of that.
“No offense taken. It’s fine,” I chuckle awkwardly. “I’m tall.”
“Huge, more like,” she laughs, then smacks herself lightly in the forehead in a way that is clearly supposed to be adorable. “There I go again.”
An awkward silence stretches before Teddy clears his throat once more.
“So, yeah, Lily was my best friend when we were kids. She lived next door with her mom,” he says, his arm sliding around my waist. “But we haven’t seen each other since... high school, right?”
Something in Lily’s expression fractures when his hand tightens at my hip, her eyes lingering there for a moment too long. Then she blinks and looks back up, an easy smile restored.
“Yeah,” she says, stepping a little closer to Teddy. “That sounds about right.”
“Anyway, this is Indie,” Teddy says, smiling at me. “My girlfriend—”
“Oh, good!” Dawn’s voice slices through the room. “You found each other again!”
All eyes turn toward us.
With startling speed in her high heels, Dawn rushes over, grabs Teddy and Lily, and drags them away toward her sitting area.
“Look who’s reunited!” Dawn announces to the room, beaming as she lowers herself onto the sofa. “Lily, Theodore’s high school sweetheart.”
My stomach drops.
What?
Teddy looks at me, shakes his head frantically, and frowns at Dawn.
“Mom, that’s not exactly—”
“Oh, hush,” Dawn says with a laugh, patting the cushion beside her.
Teddy sits down, and Lily sits next to him—a little too close. He tries to scoot down for room, but his mother, on his other side, blocks him in.
His high school sweetheart, the words ring around my head like a mean taunt.
“These two were just inseparable growing up. You should have seen them. Always playing together—you even had a little pretend wedding! Do you remember that? Lily, remember, I even let you use my veil? Oh, it was adorable.”
Lily ducks her head and smiles in a way that is somehow both bashful and pleased.
“Yes, I remember,” she says, laughing. “It was only one of the best days of my life.”
The words should sound like a joke, but they don’t. There’s a little too much sincerity in her tone. Everyone laughs around her, completely charmed by the bubbly brunette.