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John arrived at the funeral home the next morning. He was tired from his late night writing the eulogy. He met Mike, Angie, Betty, Tim, and Janet’s basketball coach with the funeral director as he went over the plans. The funeral director handed out the reading to Mike, Angie, and Betty for the funeral. As cars arrived for the funeral procession, everyone said their goodbyes to Janet. John approached the casket.
“Thank you for being in my life, peanut. I love you and I miss you so much. I will see you soon,” John says as he wept.
The pallbearers brought the casket to the hearse and walked to their cars. In his car, John cried as the hearse led the funeral procession.
The funeral procession arrived at the church. The pallbearers stood back as the guests went into the church. The priest shook John’s hand and gave Janet a blessing. The music started playing a beautiful tune as the pallbearers rolled Janet’s casket down the aisle.
After the Mass, the priest introduced John for the eulogy. He stood in front of the guests. He was always nervous with public speaking, but this time he was even more nervous. His throat was dry. John rarely spoke in front of crowds. His little reflections in front of the small crowd at AA were nothing compared to the large crowd at Janet’s funeral.
John looked at the crowd. Some were comforting each other, and others waited to hear what John had to say. Most of the attendees were students and teachers from Janet’s school. Janet’s school choir sang the songs for the service, and they were beautiful. Janet would have enjoyed it John thought to himself.
John took out the folded piece of paper from his pocket. John took a deep breath and began:
“Good morning and thank you for coming,” John started off. He then paused and looked at the piece of paper some more. He then folded the paper back up and placed it in his pocket.
“I apologize. I found my daughter in a dumpster seventeen years ago when I was too drunk and stupid to care about anything. From the day she was born, she already was discarded like some piece of garbage. The day we met each other, she changed me. I quit drinking and dedicated my life to being her father,” John said while holding back his tears.
“Janet was a special person as most of you know. She was never selfish and stood up for herself when people looked down at her. She wanted nothing more than to help others. She was bullied and judged by how she looks, but that did not stop her from pursuing her dream of playing basketball, going to school, and making people aware of the cruelties of bullying,” John said, and he paused as he could feel the tears running down his face. He looked up to the guests and saw Nancy, Michelle, Ashley, and Janet looking at him and smiling.
“Janet changed my life forever. When I thought there was nothing left for me, she came to me and reassured me that everything was ok. She was my beautiful angel and my gracious gift. I know there are many of you that have been touched by her kindness,” John paused and began to weep.
“Those of you who are parents, you should hold your children close. They are a gift to make us better. In return, we should sacrifice everything we have to make their lives the best it can be. As I look around at these young children, I see the future. Janet made me realize this and I will never forget her gift to me. She will never be forgotten. Janet will always be remembered. Not because she was different from other people, but because she taught us to become better versions of ourselves,” John said as he wiped his tears away from his face and sat down.
The pallbearers are called to bring the casket to the hearse. The priest did another blessing, and the pallbearers brought the casket to the hearse. The guests went into their cars for the funeral procession to the cemetery. The hearse led them to the cemetery.
The guests gathered around the casket at the cemetery. The priest said prayers and the guests placed red roses on the casket. Janet was buried next to Michelle. The weather was clear and warm, the sun shone down on Janet. The priest invited the guests to John’s house for refreshments. John gave his house key to Mike and told Mike that he will meet them at the house. Mike nodded and left with the other guests. John stayed with Janet’s grave a while longer. He told her again that he loved her and placed a white rose on the casket. He blew a kiss to his little peanut and walked away.
A lot of people showed up to the brunch after the funeral. The smell of bacon, eggs, French toast, and sausages filled the house. The guests ate and told more stories about Janet as home videos played on the TV.
After the brunch and all the guests left, Mike, Angie, and Betty stayed to help John clean up. John thanked them for making this possible and gave them all a hug. Betty and Angie left, and Mike stayed back to have a cup of coffee with John. After their coffee finished, Mike left.
Later in the evening, John took out the trash. As he opened the door to go inside, he heard a whimper. John turned around to see the same stray dog he saw a couple of days ago. The dog wagged its tail and John noticed it has something in its mouth. John called the dog to him, and the dog obeyed. The dog approached John and he found the dog had a white rose in its mouth. John looked up to the sky and laughed.
“So, I’m not alone, peanut?” John asked the sky as he smiled. John called the dog to come inside and closed the door.