It was one-thirty in the afternoon, and Tanya’s funeral started at two. Mr. Dorman had excused the whole Senior class at lunchtime, so that they could go home and dress for the funeral. Since school was over at three, and the funeral would last for at least an hour, they weren’t expected to come back to school until the following morning.
Amy shivered a little as she walked down the street toward the Porter Fine Furniture Store, where she was to meet Jessica, Michele, and Colleen. She’d borrowed her mother’s trench coat, which wasn’t very warm, but her bright pink flowered parka had seemed inappropriate for such a somber occasion.
“Amy! Wait up!”
Amy turned and began to smile. Colleen had never been very athletic, but she was running as fast as she could, her long black dress coat flapping behind her like the tail of some gigantic crow.
“I’m glad I caught you!” Colleen was panting as she arrived at Amy’s side. “Your mom said you’d just left, and there’s been a change of plans. Danny’s taking us.”
“Danny’s going to Tanya’s funeral?”
Colleen nodded proudly. “I talked him into it.”
“You’re kidding!” Amy was totally surprised. “When I asked Danny if he was going, he told me that he hates funerals. And he swore that he was never going to another one . . . except for his own.”
“I know. He always says that. I must have heard it a million times by now. Come on. We’re all meeting at the Hungry Burger. We’ll leave from there.”
Amy nodded, and started to walk again, in step with Colleen. The Hungry Burger was only a block and a half away, so they didn’t have far to go. “Tell me, Colleen. How did you get Danny to change his mind?”
“I explained that since Tanya had been his classmate, it was his duty to attend her funeral.”
“An appeal to his social obligations . . . that’s good.” Amy nodded. “What else?”
“I said it might seem like an insult to Tanya’s parents if he was the only member of the Senior class who didn’t show up.”
“Application of peer pressure, and a concern for the emotional well-being of others . . . that’s good, too. What else?”
“I told him that we really wanted to go, but it was too far to walk and he was our only hope.”
“An appeal to his vanity by admitting that he was the only person who had the power to rescue us. Very good, Colleen. What else?”
Colleen frowned. “What makes you think there was anything else?”
“I know Danny. He wouldn’t have bought any of those other arguments. There was something else, wasn’t there? Something you’re not telling me?”
“Well . . . yes.” Colleen nodded. “But it’s really not worth mentioning.”
“I think you’d better tell me.”
“Oh . . . all right.” Colleen sighed deeply. “I promised him that we’d do his laundry and iron his shirts for the next four weeks.”
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together to say our earthly good-byes to Tanya Rachael Ellison, beloved daughter of Virginia and Spencer Ellison.”
The minister intoned the familiar words, and Amy shuddered. She could understand why Danny hated funerals. They were sad and depressing, and the funeral service reminded Amy that death was inevitable.
“Are you okay?”
Danny leaned close to whisper in Amy’s ear, and she nodded. The other girls were sitting near the front of the church, but Amy had waited for Danny to find a parking spot, and when he’d returned to the church on foot, they’d taken a pew in the rear. Amy felt a tap on her arm, and she turned to see that Danny was holding out his handkerchief.
“Thanks, but I’m not crying.” Amy leaned over to whisper in his ear.
Danny reached out with the white linen square and gently blotted her cheeks. When he pulled his handkerchief away, Amy was amazed to see that it was wet with tears.
“But . . . I didn’t know I was crying.” Amy was embarrassed.
“It’s okay.” Danny reached out to squeeze her hand. “I’ve got tears in my eyes, too . . . and I hardly knew Tanya. That’s the reason I don’t like funerals.”
Amy nodded. Danny was still holding her hand, and she didn’t even think of pulling away. It felt warm, and friendly, and very comforting. He held her hand through the rest of the service, and he didn’t let it go until the minister had spoken his final words and the formal church service had ended.
The pallbearers, dressed in somber black suits, walked to the front of the church and surrounded Tanya’s casket. The organ was playing softly, and Amy leaned close to Danny again to speak softly in his ear. “Did Colleen tell you that we’re trying to spot Tanya’s mystery boyfriend?”
“She told me. That’s why I picked a spot in the back of the church. I’ve been here before, and the ushers always let the people in the front go out first. We’ll be able to see their faces when they pass us.”
“Good thinking.” Amy nodded, and then she reacted to the rest of what Danny had said. “You’ve been in this church before ?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah. I dated the former minister’s daughter. She used to drag me to service every Sunday to hear her father preach. I think she was trying to reform me, but it didn’t work.”
“I see.” Amy nodded and stifled a grin. Everyone should have known that Danny couldn’t be reformed. She glanced at the front of the church again, and she realized that the pallbearers were lifting Tanya’s casket. “What are they doing?”
“They’re carrying the casket out to the hearse. Then they’ll drive it to the cemetery.”
Amy nodded. She watched as the pallbearers picked up the casket and carried it slowly down the middle aisle of the church. When the casket passed their pew, Amy shuddered. She was glad that they’d closed it and she couldn’t see Tanya, but she had an almost overwhelming urge to jump to her feet and open the casket so that Tanya could breathe.
“Easy, Amy.” Danny slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Tanya’s not in there. It’s just her body.”
“I know, but . . .” Amy stopped in mid-sentence. She was very embarrassed about her irrational reaction to the closed casket.
“You wanted to lift the lid, so she could breathe?”
Amy nodded. It seemed almost as if Danny had read her mind. “That’s exactly how I felt. But how did you know?”
“I felt the same way, the first time I went to a funeral. Maybe we’d better not go to the cemetery.”
Amy thought about it for a second, and then she shook her head. “No. We have to go. It’s expected.”
“Okay.” Danny nodded. “The ushers are up in front now. We’d better watch.”
Amy blinked back a fresh rush of tears as Tanya’s parents stood up. Mrs. Ellison was weeping softly, and Tanya’s father looked pale and strained. They started down the center aisle, and Amy was faced with another quandary. She wanted to acknowledge them somehow, but was it appropriate to smile at a funeral?
“What can I do?” Amy poked Danny.
“Nod as they pass you. Just let them know that you’re here and you care. A smile wouldn’t really be wrong, but it wouldn’t be exactly right, either.”
Amy nodded as the Ellisons passed her. And then she turned to look at Danny. He’d done it again. He’d read her mind about whether she should smile or not.
Brett and Gail were ushered out next, and Amy frowned as they passed her. Brett’s eyes were red, and she could tell he’d been crying, but Gail looked perfectly composed. Her arm was tucked through Brett’s, and she looked stunning in a light blue wool dress with tiny diamond earrings. Amy wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not, but Gail’s eyes appeared to sparkle, and she seemed almost happy as she walked down the aisle with Brett. It reminded Amy of the weddings she’d seen, and how radiant the bride had been as she’d walked down the aisle with her new husband. After they’d passed, Danny leaned close and whispered, “Gail looks like she’s practicing for her wedding.”
Amy didn’t say anything. She just chalked another point up for Danny. He’d read her mind again.
Although Amy and Danny watched every guy who was ushered down the aisle, there was no one who looked like he could have been Tanya’s mystery boyfriend. It was the same at the graveside. They knew most of the mourners, and there weren’t any likely candidates.
Amy was shivering by the time they’d all piled into Danny’s parents’ station wagon again. The wind had begun to blow, and she’d nearly frozen, waiting for the minister to finish his prayers. “Maybe I was so cold, I didn’t notice, but I didn’t see any mystery boyfriends.”
“Me, neither.” Danny reached out to pat Amy’s shoulder. “Cheer up, Amy. At least there wasn’t a fight.”
Michele laughed from the backseat, where she was riding with Colleen and Jessica. “There wouldn’t have been one anyway. Gail was hanging on to Brett’s arm so hard, he couldn’t even move.”
“You didn’t see them in the car.” Colleen spoke up. “I don’t think Brett’s heater works.”
“Why not?” Michele sounded curious.
“Because they were huddling so close together, you couldn’t have pried them apart with a crowbar.”
Amy winced. She really wanted to say something about how they shouldn’t gossip, but she wasn’t quite sure how to do it. She’d just opened her mouth to speak up, when Danny cleared his throat.
“Now girls . . .” Danny sounded stern. “You know it’s not nice to gossip. If you gossip about somebody else, they might just gossip about you.”
Jessica giggled. “They can go ahead and do it. My life’s an open book. It’s blank, but it’s open.”
That cracked everyone up, Amy included. But all the while she was laughing and releasing the tension from the funeral, she was wondering why Danny always seemed to read her mind and anticipate exactly what she wanted to say.