Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Tate tugged uncomfortably at this collar, wishing he were anywhere but at Tyler’s memorial service. He didn’t like funerals in general, and ones for people he’d cared about he liked even less.
Everyone always said that the funeral was for the living, and today seemed to be no exception.
Knowing Tyler as he did, this would not be the gathering that his friend would have planned for his sendoff into the hereafter.
He’d once expressed to Tate that he didn’t like the formality of it all.
He wanted a casual and fun spot where people could share funny stories about him over food and drinks.
He’d even suggested a local band that did classic rock covers for the music.
Tyler wouldn’t have been a fan of the maudlin organ music being played over the speakers in the funeral home, the suits and ties on the men, the hushed tones among those gathered.
But he’d never had a chance to make his wishes known to his parents, and whether they would have followed those directions was an open question.
While Tate liked his friend’s parents, Tyler had always described them as people who cared about how things looked to the community. They’d been the type to keep up with the Joneses, concerned more with the outward appearance of happiness than whether they actually felt that way.
Their son’s desire for a party after his death simply might not have fit in with what they had planned. The Eckerds were good people, but Tyler had grown into someone quite different than his mother and father.
“I can’t believe this is all happening,” Leo said when Tate approached. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
“I keep waiting for him to walk in here and tell us all it was just some crazy joke,” Shelly said. “A stupid prank. But that’s not going to happen, is it?”
Shelly’s eyes glittered with tears, and she sniffled into a handkerchief that she pulled from her purse.
“Everybody will be here,” Leo said, placing an arm around his wife. “Marnie and Lindsey sent a text that they’re parking the car, and Winnie and Glen are out back while she takes a client call.”
“Can’t she stop selling houses for one day?” Shelly asked angrily. “Talk about no respect for the dead.”
“Her client doesn’t care that someone died,” Leo said, his tone gentle. “Today is any other day to them.”
“She has an assistant,” Shelly pressed. “She could have handed them off for just a few hours, but heaven forbid she miss a commission. She’ll probably corner Cat about buying a house when she gets here. Just no class. Speaking of Cat, where is she? She didn’t come with you?”
It was interesting that the entire town had concluded that he and Cat were back together. It was true, of course, but no one was even questioning it, as if it had been some sort of foregone conclusion.
“She said she had an errand to do this morning, and she would meet me here,” Tate explained, tugging at his collar again. He fucking hated wearing a tie. “I’m sure she’ll be here any moment.”
“Josh and Rachel are coming,” Leo said. “Larry and Diane. Keith and Tracy. After the service, we’re all to go over to the Arnolds, who are having the wake at their house since the Eckerds are in the middle of renovating theirs. They’re a close friend of the Eckerds.”
“Josh is coming?” Tate questioned. “Is he in any shape to do that?”
“He said nothing would keep him away,” Shelly replied. “Rachel told me that the doctor will make sure that Josh is able to attend.”
That statement could mean a few things. One of them was that Josh would be highly medicated when he showed up.
Winnie and Glen walked back inside, along with Marnie and Lindsey. To Tate’s surprise, Tyler’s mom and dad were right behind them.
“Tate, can we speak with you for a moment?” his mother asked.
Alice Eckerd was dressed in a black dress and a single strand of pearls, which she was currently clutching as she made her request. Darren Eckerd, dressed in a somber black suit, stood unsmiling at her side but not speaking.
“Of course, what can I do for you?”
He held his breath, hoping they weren’t going to ask him at the last minute to make some remarks about Tyler. Tate wasn’t terrible at public speaking, but he wasn’t great at anything off the cuff. He liked to be prepared.
“Can we step into the hall?” Alice asked, her gaze darting to the others. “It will only take a moment.”
He couldn’t say no to two grieving parents if they asked him for a favor. He followed them out to the end of the hallway, walking past people who were still milling around waiting for the beginning of the service.
“We have a favor to ask you,” Alice said, glancing at her husband before continuing. “I will be honest with you. We understand if you don’t want to do it, and we wouldn’t blame you.”
Darren cleared his throat a few times, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.
“Tyler’s lost luggage showed up at the house this morning,” he explained.
“We simply cannot deal with that right now. Is there any way you or someone in the friend group can open it and deal with the contents? Otherwise, it will sit there until we can emotionally deal with it, which could be a very long time in the future. We wouldn’t ask, but Tyler’s girlfriend asked for a blue cashmere sweater she gave him last year for Christmas.
She wants it as a keepsake now that he’s gone.
It must be in his luggage, although we’re not sure about giving it back.
She’s also asking for some photos from his phone.
He only mentioned Alexa a few times, and we can’t be sure they were really all that close, but what are we going to do with a sweater?
And she only wants copies of the pictures. It seems pretty harmless.”
“She swears they were planning to be married,” Alice said, leaning in toward Tate. “Tyler never told us any such thing, so we’re taking that with a grain of salt. Maybe they talked about it, maybe they didn’t. We can’t know for sure, of course.”
“Would one of you be willing?” Darren asked.
“We have the suitcase from the airline, and the sheriff delivered Tyler’s clothes, wallet, and cellphones.
I assume a young person knows those things.
Finn suggested asking the clerk at the phone store, but we didn’t feel right having a stranger go through Tyler’s phones.
We know that you’re not the type to gossip about anything you see. ”
In a college town, Tate didn’t consider himself all that young, but Darren easily had thirty years on him.
“Cellphones? Plural?” Tate queried.
“He had two,” Alice explained. “We assume one was for work and one was personal.”
“That makes sense,” Tate agreed. “And of course, I’ll help you out. I’ll look through his things personally.”
One last favor for his buddy Tyler. It was the least and the last thing he could do for his friend.
“You can take them with you, if you like,” Darren replied, a relieved tone in his voice.
“We brought it with us today, and it’s in the trunk.
I don’t even know how to get the photos off of a phone.
We wouldn’t mind not having his things around for a few days.
Then you can do it when you have free time.
I’m sure it will be hard for you, too. We are grateful.
We realize it’s a strange request. While Alexa seems like a lovely young woman, we didn’t feel comfortable turning everything over to her since we only met a few hours ago.
Have you met her? Did Tyler talk about her to you? ”
“He never mentioned her specifically by name,” Tate replied, thinking back through their conversations. “He said he was seeing someone, but I guess I never asked her name. You said she’s here today?”
“She’s outside talking to Josh and Rachel,” Alice said, her lips pressed into a thin line. It seemed Tyler’s mother wasn’t a huge fan of her would-be daughter-in-law. “But you’ll know who she is when she comes inside for the service. She’ll be the one sobbing and making a scene.”
Alice Eckerd wasn’t a woman who liked making a scene or even being around others who might be doing it. Public opinion was far too important to call attention to herself in such a way.
True to Alice’s word, Tate was easily able to pick Alexa out of the crowd. She was sitting in the first row, along with Josh and Rachel, the latter with her arm around the young woman in a gesture of comfort as she openly wept.
Cat had arrived while he had been talking to the Eckerds, and she waved at him from her seat off to the side with part of their friend group. Lindsey, Winnie, Leo, and Shelly had taken seats directly behind Alexa, Josh, and Rachel.
Alice and Darren also took seats in the front row next to Josh and Rachel. The organ music reached a crescendo, and a man in a dark suit approached the podium, a stack of index cards in his right hand. A large framed photo of a happy, smiling Tyler stood just to the right.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to begin.”
The music stopped, and the stragglers quickly found their seats. Tate sat next to Cat, reaching for her hand as he settled into his chair. She laced their fingers together as the speaker cleared his throat a few times.
“We are here to celebrate the life of Tyler Eckerd, a young man gone too soon.”
The man spoke for a few minutes about Tyler’s life and the good things he’d done. Then he introduced another man who was sitting in the back row, a friend of Tyler’s from work named Greg Cosgrove.
Greg stepped up to the podium, and a slideshow of photos began on the wall behind him.
He talked about Tyler as a friend, a co-worker, and all the good times they’d had.
He spoke about how helpful and caring Tyler was, and that he would miss his friend greatly.
All the while, pictures of Tyler from infancy to much more recent times circulated behind him, and the girlfriend, Alexa, sobbed into her handkerchief.