Reunited

The blossom of a lotus rests atop the water, its stalk strong and firm beneath the surface.

From a seat in the back, he watched his oldest friend take the podium.  She appeared vulnerable and a bit bedraggled, but with a calm sense of purpose, a peaceful composure that made her shine.  She was beautiful.  As the lotus flower she stood strong, majestic almost, in her utter serenity – fake as he knew it was.  He sighed, his heart aching, wanting to reach out to her, but knowing that now was not the time.  He was there.  That was enough.

Bennie French swallowed the lump in her throat.  She scanned the pews seeing the familiar faces, tears streaming, smiles forced.  She swallowed again and wiped at her face with the back of her slender hand.  Her curly hair was loose, a mess, the orange ringlets in disarray around her small face.  Her lips were painted a pale shade of pink and her eyes were set deep in the shadows of dark circles caused by lack of sleep.  She was thin, maybe even skinny, and her black pantsuit hung on her as if she’d lost weight since its purchase.

She cleared her throat again then found him in the back.  He had come all the way from New York, where he’d moved three years ago, and for that she was grateful.  She met the eyes of her dear friend, Jay, and took a deep breath.  “Before Belle…before she left, she asked me to read this,” Bennie stated simply, holding up a sheet of yellow stationary, the scent of vanilla still heavy on the page.  “So that’s what I’m going to do.”

She took a deep breath, her small 26-year-old frame shaking slightly, then began to read, “Broad of bust and backside, Belinda Pyke, was a woman not to cross.  Her laughter could be heard for blocks, her scorn for miles.  She was a woman full of love, of life, of hope.”  Bennie breathed deeply to steady herself and continued, “She was everybody’s grandma, offering an ear to listen, a shoulder on which to cry, and a batch of cookies when the ‘spirit needed liftin’,’ she used to say.  She held your hand as long as you pleased, and a grudge for even longer.  She’s let them all go.  No more grudges.”  Bennie laughed a little and wiped her face again.  “She’s off and runnin’, and as much as she’ll miss you all here, she’s got her son, Daniel, and little Mimi in a bear hug like you wouldn’t believe.  Please don’t cry.  She loves you all and she’ll see you when you get there.”

The gatherers felt tears burn their eyes, but Bennie breathed a small sigh of relief at having finished the letter.  With great care, she folded the sheet of paper then slipped it into the front pocket of her black slacks.  “I’ll never forget the day I met her,” she stated quietly.

“It was the day of Mimi’s funeral.  She was my best friend and after her car accident I thought I’d die too.”  She pressed her lips together and nodded.  “We’ll all miss Belle.”

Bennie stepped away from the podium and walked down the center of the church pews.  The pastor took his place at the front of the congregation, but Bennie didn’t stay for the closing prayers.  Her chest was tight leaving little room for air.  She knew Jay watched her slip out the door into the rain, but didn’t care.  It wasn’t raining too hard, just a typical Seattle day in October, a bit gray with mist in the air.

She closed her eyes and leaned against the damp brick wall of the church.  It was so long ago…twenty years, but it felt like she’d met Belle just yesterday.  “So long ago,” Bennie muttered to the sky.

“You okay?”  She heard Jay’s voice, but didn’t answer him and didn’t open her eyes when he squeezed her hand.  Instead she leaned her head on his shoulder and remembered.

Pain, sharp then just a dull ache before it became nothing.  Darkness surrounded her, and she was warm, but cool at the same time.  She drifted along, aware of everything, but feeling peaceful, calm, quiet until she settled in a pillow of clouds.  At least, that’s how Bennie imagined it.  She wiped her eyes and stared at the sky.  “If heaven is in the clouds like mama says, then when the clouds move, does heaven move too?”   She shrugged and kicked a rock with her toe.  “And if Daddy’s watchin’ over me always like mama says, then when the clouds move and heaven moves, who is Daddy watchin’ over then?”  She looked up at the woman who’d taken the seat beside her and crossed her arms.  “I wanna know if heaven moves to Alabama, is my daddy watchin’ over someone there?”

“So many big questions for such a tiny girl,” the woman said softly.  “What are you doin’ here?”

“I came to see my daddy and to tell him about Mimi.  I was thinking he could make sure she’s safe on whatever cloud she picked.  I bet it’s a big puffy white one, she liked that kind best.”

“I bet you’re right.  What’s your name?”
“Ebenezer French, but they call me Bennie because Ebenezer is too much to say.  Your Mimi’s grandma, but I don’t know your name.”

“Belinda Pyke, but my friends call me Belle.”  She stuck out her large hand and Bennie took it.  “Nice to meet you.”

“So do you know the answer?”  Bennie leaned back in the grass and stared up into the clouds, white puffy ones, the kind Mimi loved, floated overhead.  “Do you think heaven moves and if it does, will it take Daddy and Mimi somewhere else?”

Belle considered her words carefully.  She swallowed a lump and sniffed a bit, then smiled softly.  “I think, Bennie, that heaven is all around us and your daddy and our Mimi can go and see whomever they want.  If your mommy says that your daddy is always watching over you, then I’m sure he is and I’m sure that Mimi is right there with him and with her daddy, watching over us both.”

Bennie weighed the older woman’s response and sat up to look at her.  “I imagine you’re right.”  She sniffed and wiped at her face.  “I’m sure gonna miss her.”

Belle nodded and wrapped the small girl in her arms.  “I know, little Bennie, I’m gonna miss her too.  I’m guessing she brought us together so we could miss her together.”

A breeze blew around her, making the orange ringlets at her ears sway.

“Eb, you okay?” Jay asked suddenly, squeezing her hand a bit tighter.

Bennie coughed and opened her eyes.  “Belle is gone…I’m not okay – not anywhere near it.”

“You will be, Eb.”

He pulled her into a hug and she let him.  She took the strength he offered and sighed.  “I know, but it sucks, Jay.  It just sucks so much.”  He smelled of rain and cologne…the same cologne he’d been wearing since high school.  Mimi had brought her to Belle and Belle had brought Jay home.  “It’s not right,” she said, pushing him away.  “You should have come back before now, Belle shouldn’t have had to die to bring you home.”

Jay shook his head.  “I bought a ticket six weeks ago.  I was planning on coming back before I even knew Belle was sick, Eb.”

She searched his eyes, his face…he brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb.  “I was coming home, Eb, because I missed you too much.  New York is great and the new job is great, but without you, it’s just a city.”

She choked and more tears filled her eyes.  “You were planning to come back…?”

“Yes, Eb.”  He nodded and pulled her toward him.  “I was coming home already.  Belle didn’t have to die to bring me back.  She just died.”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”  He inhaled the scent of her.  A ringlet tickled his nose.  “Me too.”  It was good to be home.