Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

KALOOSH

It’s been three years since I saw my first true love, yet I can still see her eyes as I close my own. Her face was everything to me that night, the night she left me standing here in Brevard.

My husband kisses my cheek as he puts his hand over the paper in front of me. “You know reading it over and over isn’t going to change the facts, right?”

“I know that, Jasper. I just wish I could be there for her,” I sigh as I set the paper down. The paper is a good three weeks old now.

“I knew this would happen.” Jasper sits beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Aneko made her choices, and we made ours.” His kiss graces my cheek as he reaches for a piece of toast. “We weren’t at the wedding, there’s no reason for us to be at his funeral. Although, I do hope this Jimmy guy treated her as well as we would have.”

Grabbing a piece of toast, I contest, “But maybe she needs us there. Maybe we need to be there.”

His eyes find mine. “There’s no way we will make it to the funeral, unless we take a plane, Kaloosh.” He knows I’ve always hated flying. “But… I would be happy to go with you, if you choose to do so.”

“You know what?” I ask as I stand up from the chair, my mouth full of a bite of toast. “Let’s do it. I really think she needs us.”

Jasper stands up, smiling. “Good. I already packed our bags. We have two hours to get to the flight I already booked for us.”

Swallowing the last of the toast I ate down with a sip of water, I pull Jasper into a hug. “You knew I would do it, for her, didn’t you?” He nods and we embrace for just a moment before we both rush off to our room to change.

Getting upstairs, I smile at what he’s got picked out for us. The suits are perfect for a funeral. I just never planned to be using them so soon. Both of our parents’ are a long ways from their death beds, unless something like what took Jimmy from Aneko takes them, of course.

That morbid thought in mind, I look at my husband, all dressed up in his Sunday best. “So, we’re really doing this?” He nods and I grab a suitcase, while he grabs another one. “Okay, I guess I have to get over my fear of flying, don’t I?”

“For Aneko, we can do absolutely anything.”

With those motivating words, we head out, leaving our empty house behind. We never got pets or had kids. It’s just us. The whole ride to the airport is quiet, both of us lost in thoughts of her. After our prom, the three of us got together at least three times.

By the time Aneko left, I felt almost as strongly for Jasper, as I still do Aneko. Less than a year after she left us behind, Jasper and I were married. It’s not too common in this small town, yet we were accepted for who we were, and I couldn’t be happier… unless Aneko is willing to join us.

Of course, that’s not why we are going to her husband’s funeral. No, we are going there, unified, to give her any support she may feel she is missing.

As the plane flies over our beautiful mountain town, Jasper’s arm stretches behind me, wrapping me up in his comfort. “We’ll get there in one piece. Together we can comfort her. She needs us, and you know it, Kaloosh.”

“I know.”

My relaxation medication for flying starts to kick in and I drift off into a deep sleep. My dreams are of days gone by, the days when Aneko and I were a simple teenage couple. Every time we did something, it was together, unless we absolutely couldn’t.

When I wake up, I can hear Jasper’s comforting voice in my ear, “We’re here, husband.”

Just like that my eyes open wide and my heart starts to thud. “Really? We already made it?”

His smile is everything to me as I pull his face towards mine, kissing him hard and demandingly. He gives into the kiss, letting me take as much time as I need. I don’t stop kissing his delicious lips until I hear the speakers, “The plane has landed safely.”

Everyone claps as any safe plane landing demands. Everyone but us. Jasper pulls me back to him, keeping our lips locked and our arms exploring each other’s bodies. “We are here,” I say as our kiss finishes.

“Yeah, we are. Let’s go check on our Aneko.”

I find myself patient as we make our way off the plane, then to baggage pick up. The whole time we’re standing there, we are getting glances from other passengers. I ignore them, but Jasper clenches his teeth as he says, “What? Can’t two men be in love?”

One of the passengers laughs as she comes up behind me, saying, “It’s not the show that got us, granted I loved that, it’s the clothes. You two look like you just got married in those digs.”

I can feel my face fall as realization sets in. We are here for a very sad event, but they don’t need to know that. I shrug and laugh it off, saying, “Oh, we’ve been married for a couple years already. It’s nice to know you all are accepting of us though.”

She laughs as she heads in a different direction. “Of course we are, this town is known for being accepting.”

Just like that the woman before me disappears. Jasper laughs as he pulls me to him, planting another hot and heavy kiss on my lips. This time we finish the kiss by picking up our bags and leaving the airport. The Uber we called is waiting in the pick-up line.

Checking the app, I smile. “I did it. I flew in a plane.”

Jasper laughs. “That you did. But now we need to go help our friend, Aneko, out.”

That thought sobers me. She lost a love; one she spent a year married to. I couldn’t imagine losing Jasper. As we sit down in the cab I grab ahold of his arm, happy to have him here with me.

The cab takes us straight to the viewing. This funeral is happening in two stages, the viewing the night before, and the service and burial tomorrow. Just like Jimmy wanted. I only know this cause the paper said so.

Getting out of the cab, Jasper takes my hand as we head into the funeral home. The set up is like any other funeral, not that I’ve been to a whole lot of them. The sign in book is right there. Grabbing the pen, I sign my name, and Jasper fills out the rest, after signing his own name.

Each of us grab a paper folded neatly and filled out with all the things Jimmy had wanted on his paper. After only being together a year, I start to wonder when they had the time to discuss this end of life stuff.

Looking ahead of me, I see a woman I recognize. She was at the airport, the one who gave us some shit about our suits. Her eyes soften as she comes up to us, a frown on her face. “Hey, the name’s Morina. If you don’t mind me asking, how’d you know my step-brother?”

My face drops as I realize who this woman is. She must be very close to our love, to our friend. “We grew up with Aneko, in Brevard,” Jasper chimes in.

“Oh!” she practically shouts. “Oh, it’s you. I know the both of you. Jimmy showed me the paper from your hometown when you all got married.” This woman we barely know pulls us into a hug as she adds, “I have heard so much about you two. I just don’t know where to start. Thank you for being here, I guess, is the best start.”

I accept the hug from this virtual stranger. So does Jasper. “We wouldn’t miss being here for Aneko,” I say gently as she pulls away.

“She’s gonna be so surprised to see the two of you.”

“The two of who?” I hear from behind her. “Oh. You two. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.” Aneko, in the flesh, stands before us, pulling us into a hug before we can process what’s happening. “I can’t believe you two made it.” She kisses our cheeks, one peck on each as she pulls away.

“I’m sorry our meeting again has to be on such a bad occasion, Aneko,” Jasper whispers.

“Me too,” she whispers back.

“We are here for you, Aneko. Anything you need, Jasper and I are here to help.”

Aneko nods, leading us to the front, showing us the man she loved when she was away from us. “He was my everything, you guys. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

Morina pulls her into a hug, saying, “We will help you through it, Aneko.”

Just like that, I feel like I’ve fallen for another perfect woman. “What can we do for you right now?”

Aneko sighs, “You can sit up front with me. This funeral took so long to plan that I have become numb to it.” She tilts her head towards the reserved chairs in the front of the room. “You know this was supposed to have happened two weeks ago already?” Her eyes water as we take a seat with her in the front, Morina on one side of her and me on the other. “The autopsy took longer than they expected.”

She throws herself into my arms as I let her cry. “It’s okay, Aneko, we will help you through this,” is all I say as we sit here, with her.

Through the rest of the night, people come to give her hugs and their condolences. Every once in a while, we get some weird looks for sitting next to her. We don’t fit in here too well, and I’m sure they are wondering why she keeps hugging two men they have never seen before.

By the time the funeral director comes to let Aneko know that the viewing is over, she has received at least a hundred hugs. “Ma’am, it’s time to close the casket. If you need anything before tomorrow, feel free to reach out.”

He leads us to the exit after letting Aneko get one last look at her very still husband. As she bawls her eyes out, I practically have to carry her out of the place. Morina leads us to a very fancy car, saying, “Jimmy only wanted the best for her. Why don’t you two come stay with us tonight. I wouldn’t have her best friends from back home staying at a hotel.”

I wave her off after setting a crying Aneko into the passenger seat. “Nah…”

She cuts me off, “I won’t hear of it, Kaloosh, just get in and ride back with us.”

I put my hands up, thrown aback by her bluntness. “Okay. We will come with. But just so you know, our bags are at a hotel already.”

“We can worry about that tomorrow,” is all she says as she gets into the driver’s seat.

The whole way to the house is spent in silence as we let the weight of Aneko’s grief set into our own hearts. I don’t know what happens from here on out, but I do know that she is our first priority. The ride across town takes all of fifteen minutes.

When we pull up to the house that she shared with Jimmy, I can see that he was all about the best things in life. Maybe this is why they took longer on his autopsy. I know Aneko wouldn’t ever hurt him, but with this amount of money, I think they would investigate further.

I can feel Jasper’s hand on my leg as Morina says, “Yes, we are filthy rich.”

She gets out of the vehicle and leads us inside. Again, I carry Aneko. She folds herself into my arms just like she did the day she left Brevard. “I can’t bring myself to walk back in there.”

I can feel the weight of her emotions on my own heart, and I squeeze her tighter to me. “Don’t worry, Aneko, I can carry you as long as you need me to.”

Morina and Jasper are walking in front of us as she whispers, “I hope you remember your promise. I plan to hold you to it.”

Just like that my heartbeat picks up. We still have the funeral to go to tomorrow. This was just the showing, and she’s already devastated. I can’t take advantage of her, or the situation, but I nod. “I will keep the promise I made you, if you promise me, you will finish grieving first.”

Her head moves as she rests it against my chest. “Okay.”

That’s the last words we say as she pulls herself up and holds her head closer to my neck, to my pulse point. We are now in the giant house as she cries once again. Morina comes up to me and gently nods. “Why don’t you take her to her room. She’s been crying on me the last few weeks. I could use a break.”

Her wink tells me she doesn’t really need a break, but she wants to push us together again. “Okay.” I look at Aneko a sad smile crossing my face. “She can cry on me all she needs.”

Jasper gives me a kiss before patting my back. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay in one of the thousand guest bedrooms. We can talk in the morning.” His lips feel like heaven against my own as he adds, “I love you, husband.”

“I love you too, husband.” Walking away from him for the night feels so wrong. We haven’t slept apart for over two years.

Still, somewhere deep in my heart, this feels like the right thing to do. Aneko’s eyes find mine as we get to a long hallway. “To the right, it’s the only door that’s painted.”

Jasper may not be too far off on the thousand rooms thing. There are a lot of them. But as Aneko said, there is only one that is painted, a bright red even. “Bright red?”

Her eyes dry a bit as she laughs. “Yes, bright red. I painted it the day he died. I couldn’t bring myself to enter the room. With you, I think I can.”

I swallow hard as she opens the door. “Are you sure Jimmy would have been okay with me comforting you?”

Her hand levitates near her stomach as she says, “I know he would only want what’s best for us.” Her eyes widen as she realizes she said us, and not ‘me’. “I mean me.” Then she shakes her head, rubbing her belly. “No, I do mean us. But I don’t mean you and me.”

I kick the door gently closed behind us as I process what she’s saying. “You mean… You’re?”

“Pregnant? Yes. Jimmy knew, even though I didn’t plan to tell him til our planned date, the day he died.”

This makes fresh tears well in her eyes as I set her down on the bed, following her into it. “You mean, wait, how did you know he knew?”

She points to the side of the bed at the nightstand. “Read it.”

There is a note, so I take it and read it, my heart melts as I realize she must have gotten this on the day of his death. He gave her one last love letter without realizing it would be his last. “Wow,” is all I can manage as I set the letter down and pull her into my arms.

“Yeah.”

We lay on top of the covers, cuddling like we used to when we were kids. Both of us fall asleep far too quickly. I don’t know what happens from here out, but I do know that I’m not leaving her side ever again.