Consequences(216)

Her mind spun. “What? I don’t understand.”

He held her hands. “Claire, you had to go through your parents’ deaths alone. Emily had John, but you didn’t have anyone. You said you haven’t been to a funeral since then. I couldn’t comfort you then, please let me do it now.”

She did. Not because he wanted her to—but because she needed him to. She needed the feeling of love and support he described and melted into Tony’s embrace. When the time came, they walked into the funeral home hand in hand.

Claire recognized Mrs. Johnson immediately, a lovely blond-haired woman with Simon’s big blue eyes. Realistically, she wasn’t much older than Tony. Claire tried to act resolved, but her emotions were too fresh—too near the surface. The two women embraced and wept. Mrs. Johnson then directed them to a private room, where they were joined by Simon’s father, sister, and another woman. Claire assumed the slender pretty brunette with brown puffy eyes was Amber McCoy.

Being incredibly resilient, Mrs. Johnson asked them to sit. Once they did, she spoke, “Thank you for coming today, Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings, I know Simon would be pleased.”

They both acknowledged her with pleasantries. Claire immediately added, “Please, call me Claire.”

“Claire, Simon told me he spoke with you a few months ago. I asked you here early, because I wanted to let you know how important that was for him”—she reached for Claire’s hand. Claire nodded as Mrs. Johnson continued—“You had no way of knowing how much and how long he’d pined for you. There was a time he believed if he left you alone—until you achieved your career goal—you would be ready to see him again, but seeing you—talking to you—and learning that you weren’t what they say”—she hesitated—“well, just learning you are still the Claire he remembered—and most importantly—that you’re happy”—Mrs. Johnson smiled at Tony—“he was finally able to move on.”

Claire listened, both with concern for Simon’s mother and Tony.

Mrs. Johnson motioned toward the slender brunette. “This is Amber. She and Simon were recently engaged.”

Claire and Tony both said hello.

Simon’s mother continued, “Simon loved Amber very much, but he had to let you go. I want you to know, you’ll always be special to our family because our son loved you”—Claire’s chest heaved as she silently wept. Tony comforted her—“You had no way of knowing his feelings—he never conveyed them. Don’t ever think we have ill feelings toward you. How could anyone hold something against someone, when they didn’t even know it was happening?”—once again, she squeezed Claire’s hands—“I just thought you should know the importance of your short talk. He walked away knowing you were happily married, and knowing he could move on. Thank you.”

Claire tried to smile. “I’m thankful we had the opportunity to talk.” For the first time since her consequences—she truly was.

Then, Mrs. Johnson addressed Tony, “Mr. Rawlings, God is so funny.”

Tony replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“Mr. Rawlings, if there was one man my son idealized—besides his father—it was you”—Tony’s eyes reflected the appreciation she sent his way—“He received his start, at his dream job, in one of your companies. When he first started working for Shedis-tics, you made a few visits to their office. You probably don’t remember, but on one occasion you spoke to Simon about one of his projects. He talked about it for months. He aspired to be like you. Now you and Claire are happily married. I just think God has a sense of humor”—she looked lovingly at both of them, introduced them to the rest of the family, and added—“Please sit toward the front—it would mean a lot to Simon—and it means a lot to me.”