40. Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty
Juliet
A week later, Frank peacefully passes away in his sleep.
Leo and I found him at the same time when we went to visit him in the morning. I’ve never seen Leo cry before, but I really think he needed to. He’s been holding in too many emotions for too long.
But I’m glad he patched things up with his father before the end.
I think that gave Frank a lot of peace before he let go and that makes me feel just a tiny bit less sad about everything. But I’m still devastated.
I lost a man who I used to be so intimidated by and scared of. Honestly, I didn’t even really like him for a while, but I just didn’t know him. He hid his true self behind his pride for so long, but cancer doesn’t care how prideful, rich, or powerful someone is.
He couldn’t hide from me. Eventually, he couldn’t hide from his son.
I wish we got to see the true Frank sooner, but I’m glad we had an incredible week together of watching movies, playing games, and talking before he passed. Piper, Leo, and I will have those memories forever.
“Stand by Daddy, baby,” I tell Piper as we find our spots on the first row of seats at Frank’s funeral.
There’s a family plot in the town’s cemetery that he wanted to be buried in, and it’s a beautiful sunny day today. We didn’t limit the number of people who could show up, and as I look behind us at the rows and rows of other seats, I’m starting to wonder if we should’ve.
Tons of people from town are here to pay their respects, and I can hear whispers as people talk about Frank Galloway and the things he and his business have done for this town. Evergreen Heights wouldn’t be what it is today without him and his family.
Piper squeezes between Leo and me and takes Leo’s hand. She sniffles as she gazes at Frank’s solid mahogany casket .
Leo leans down and kisses the top of her head. “He loved you.”
Piper’s eyes well up with tears. “I don’t want him to go.”
I swallow hard, another wave of grief hitting me. I knew this would be difficult, but feeling Leo’s and Piper’s grief too makes all of this hit even harder. “It’s okay, baby.”
Leo picks Piper up and holds her against him, rubbing her back. “He’s up in heaven looking down on us and he’s not sick anymore.”
Piper nods as tears roll down her cheeks. She rests her head against his shoulder.
“Juliet.”
I turn and see Lily and Jensen in the row behind us. I lean over my chair and hug both of them. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” Lily says before reaching out and placing her hand on Leo’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Leo gives her a grateful look. “He’d be happy seeing all this. All these people being here for him. ”
“I didn’t grow up here, but I've even heard of how much he has done for this town,” Jensen tells him. “He sounded like a great man.”
“He was,” Leo says. “I just hope I can carry on his legacy and make him proud.”
“You will,” I assure him with a small smile.
I don’t have a single doubt about that.
The funeral service is as lovely as one could be. Frank wanted to be buried next to his wife. We picked out beautiful floral arrangements and had him dressed in the nicest suit he owned.
We followed everything that he included in his will that he updated just before he died.
He set aside a portion of his money for Piper, a portion for Leo and me, and another portion for the town as a donation. The rest of his money will go into the business and the estate.
He made sure that everyone he loved would be taken care of.
“It’s time to say goodbye,” Leo tells me as people go up to the closed casket to say a few words before he’s buried .
I nod and turn to Lily. “Can you watch Piper for a moment?”
“Of course,” Lily replies before smiling at Piper. “Come here, sweetie.”
Once Piper is with Jensen and Lily, I follow Leo over to the casket, holding his arm. My grip tightens as we get closer, grief spearing my heart once more.
I don’t know when that’s going to stop. I guess it never fully did with my mom.
“I’m glad we talked a lot before he passed,” Leo says as he gazes down at the casket. “I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“Whatever you feel in your heart,” I reply, leaning against his side.
Leo breathes in. “I’m going to miss you. I regret all the years that we didn’t speak to each other. I’d go back and change so much, but I’m grateful for the time that we did spend together. I’ll cherish those memories forever.”
I squeeze his arm, encouraging him to keep going .
“I love you, Dad. I haven’t told you that in a long time,” Leo murmurs quietly. “But I think you knew that I did. I hope you did.”
“He did,” I promise him. “And he loved you so much. He just had a hard time expressing it sometimes.”
“Well, he was very stubborn,” Leo replies with a small laugh.
I smile. “That’s where you get it from.”
He got a lot of traits from Frank, and a lot of them are good ones.
Leadership. Ambition. Determination. Kindness, even if it was deep down sometimes.
“Bye, Dad,” Leo says, reaching out to place his hand on the casket for a few moments.
“Working for you was one of the best things to ever happen to me,” I say as I step closer to the casket. “Having to be around you so much made me get thicker skin and taught me how to stand my ground and work hard. I needed to learn that. I needed to learn how to make myself heard.”
Leo places his hand over mine, the corner of his mouth turning up .
“I’m so grateful for the relationship you developed with Piper.
Even on bad days, she still wanted to see you because you made her smile,” I say, my voice threatening to waver.
“I’m glad that we got pulled back into each other’s lives.
I got to meet the real you, and you helped me stay strong when I felt like giving up. I’m never going to forget you, Frank.”
I touch his casket, my heart lurching because I know what comes next. “Goodbye.”
Leo and I back away, our hands joined. Other people come up to the casket to say goodbye, and we quietly watch in silence. It’s hard to process the fact that we’ll never see him again. He’s not going to be in his bedroom any longer.
I don’t have anyone to take care of anymore. Medically.
“Mr. Galloway. Ms. Mitchell.”
Leo and I turn to see Trent Evans, the Galloway family’s lawyer, approaching us. Leo steps forward and shakes Trent’s hand. “Thanks for coming.”
“Your father was like family,” Trent assures him. “This is a big loss for the entire town. ”
Leo and I nod in agreement. He could’ve done so much more if he hadn’t gotten sick, but he did as much as he possibly could before the end.
“I didn’t just come to pay my respects, though,” Trent says as he reaches into the inside pocket of his black suit jacket to pull out an envelope. “When I spoke to your father about updating his will, he had me write this out for both of you.”
My eyes widen as Leo takes the envelope.
“Thank you,” Leo says, his fingertips tracing the edge of the envelope.
I can tell he’s dying to hurry up and open it.
Trent nods. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Will do. Thanks.”
Once Trent walks off, I turn to Leo. “What do you think he had him write?”
“Only one way to find out,” Leo replies as he opens the envelope and reaches inside to pull out a folded piece of paper. He unfolds it to reveal Trent’s writing in black ink. He parts his lips to speak, but nothing comes out .
“Do you want me to read it aloud?” I ask him gently.
Leo nods and hands the letter over to me.
I draw in a deep breath as my eyes settle on the first word.
“If you’re reading this, I’ve finally succumbed to my cancer.
Thanks to Juliet, I managed to live even longer than the doctors thought I would.
Because of that, I got to spend more time with my granddaughter, and I got to make the apologies that I needed to make.
Leo, I’ve always been proud of you even if I didn’t show it.
I always knew you were going to do big things the moment you were born,” I read aloud.
“I regret ever slowing you down and I regret forcing you apart from Juliet, who is one of the most caring, incredible people I’ve ever met. ”
Leo exhales slowly, blinking his eyes rapidly.
“I wish I could be around to watch your happy future together. I wish I could watch Piper graduate high school and start a life of her own, but I know you two will take good care of her and each other,” I say, my throat growing tight.
“I wish nothing but happiness for the three of you. I’m so thankful for every moment we got to spend together.
I’m thankful I lived a long, fulfilling life.
Even when things get hard, remember the love you have for each other.
Remember all that you’ve gone through and how you still came back to each other.
That’s the type of love you never let go of. I love you. Frank.”
Leo lowers his head and rubs his eyes.
I wrap my arms around him, hugging him tightly as he grieves. The letter was lovely, but it’s still hard to hear things like this. It’s hard to accept that he’s really gone.
“I can't imagine going through this without you beside me.,” Leo murmurs, his face pressing into the crook of my neck.
“I’ll always be here for you no matter what,” I promise him. “He wanted that for us.”
The teenage version of myself would’ve never seen this coming. I never would’ve thought Frank would approve of our relationship, but a lot has changed since then.
We’re all different people now. We’ve loved, lost, forgiven, and grown. That can change anyone, even the most stubborn man I’ve ever known.
Leo turns his head and presses a soft kiss against my forehead. “Let’s go get Piper. She should say goodbye. ”
I nod in agreement and lace my fingers with his, letting him lead the way. I keep the letter in my other hand, planning to read it once more when I can get myself together.
Judging from how much I’ve cried lately, that might take a little while.
But despite the grief and pain I feel, I’m even more grateful for the time I spent with him and the man I really got to know.
Frank spent years trying to keep us apart and he didn't live long enough to see every chapter of our story.
But he lived long enough to see us find our way back to each other.