The men stepped out of Craig’s Acura, and pulled their coats tighter as a breeze had picked up at the cemetery. The cold had Craig’s teeth chattering.
The hearse door was open. Craig and the others moved to the car. Hal thanked each of them again, as they all got into place and carried the man, who had been a father figure to them all, to the site where he would be buried.
The crowd walked over the frozen ground to the canopy that had been set up. Family sat in the chairs next to the grave, and the mourners gathered around them. The pallbearers lifted the casket into place, and then took their places among the mourners, and Hal with the family. They all moved in close to one another and Craig wondered how much of that was to keep warm.
Words were spoken and prayers said. He watched as Rachel’s arm came to her mother’s shoulders and their heads pressed together. Craig couldn’t imagine the pain. He’d never lost a parent or a sibling, and Rachel had already lost both a brother and now a father.
When the small service at the grave had concluded, the crowd formed around the family to extend their condolences. Craig and the others seemed to hover toward the back of the line, but soon, he was face to face with Rachel again, and her mother and brother.
“Mom,” Rachel began, “Do you remember Craig Turner?”
“Oh, Craig,” Coach Diaz’s wife placed her gloved hands on both sides of his face and pulled him down to her so she could kiss his cheeks. She looked at the men who followed behind him. “His team. You’re his team,” she repeated.
“We were that, ma’am. He was a fine man. He helped me become the man I am today,” Craig said, and he meant every word.
“He loved you all as if you were his own. Especially after Theo—” she stopped and Craig couldn’t help but pull her into him.
“He was a good man,” Craig whispered in Mrs. Diaz’s ear as he eased back.
He shifted a look toward Rachel who batted tears away with long, dark lashes.
Each of the men behind him, hugged Rachel and her mother, then shook Hal’s hand. Craig took a moment to walk away from the grave and the people to collect himself. Being reminded of Theo seemed to have deepened the pain he was feeling.
“That meant a lot to her, that you all came,” Rachel’s voice came from behind him and he turned to see her standing there. Her nose red from the cold and the tears that had wiped away her makeup.
“I feel guilty that I didn’t remain closer to him. Hell, I only live twenty miles away.”
“We all were meant to go our own ways. He knew that.” Rachel pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to Craig. “Will you put your number in here? I was serious. I want to catch up.”
Craig took the phone with its glittery pink case, which he thought fit the woman in front of him. He plugged in his name and number, even adding his email, for good measure, he supposed. He handed it back to her and she slid it into her pocket.
“It was really good to see you,” she said, and he swore those dark eyes grew darker.
“You too. Call me whenever,” he added.
“I will.”
He watched as she walked away, passing the guys as they walked toward him, even touching Alex’s arm as she passed.
Bruce turned toward him. “He’s not even in the ground, and you’re making moves on his daughter again?”
Craig chuckled. “She asked for my number. She wants to catch up.”
Toby hummed. “I’ll bet she does. You never forget your first,” he teased, and Craig took the jab. “I’m starving. Where are you taking us?”
Craig thought for a moment. “Get back to the car. I know a place.”
The five of them walked through the cemetery, past the grave of Coach Diaz, and his family who still spoke with those who had gathered. Craig exchanged glances with Rachel one more time before he continued on.
Surely she just wanted to catch up, just like she said she did. It had been ten years, and hadn’t they both grown up?
But in their time, they had caused each other a lot of pain, and Coach Diaz, too. The fact that the man continued to vouch for him as a teacher and a man, well, it always surprised him. Craig had broken his rules, gotten caught, and done it again. The innocence of youth, he supposed. It made you stupid and still likable. It brought out the worst in you, and changed you. It made you have to grow up, but was never something you forgot.
Craig laughed when he looked up toward his car and saw Ray and Alex sprinting toward it, both reaching for the passenger door. Two grown men pushing the other out of the way and laughing.
Then, sometimes when you were with the right people, he thought, the innocence of youth, and the stupidity of it all, could come flooding back and feel like a warm blanket.