Reason and Rhyme Reason and Rhyme_2018SP | Page 16

“Gus, it’s been such a long time. Sorry it has to be under these circumstances,” said Reverend
Parker, shaking my hand. He had a solemn look in his eyes, as if he was genuinely going to miss my mom
almost as much as I was. It was good to know I wasn’t alone in this internal grief. It had felt lonely since
my stepdad, Cole, moved to Florida when my sister, Abby got married.
“Good to see you, too, Reverend.” I said, trying to sound more put together than I felt.
“You can start whenever you’re ready.” he said.
I was sitting in the pew and he was standing beside me. I nodded as he put his hand on my
shoulder, for support, I suppose. God knows I needed all of it I could get.
My mom wasn’t a very private person. She didn’t avoid crowds; she was always right in the center of
them. She was a people person, which I guess is where I got that from. I suppose she would have wanted
a large crowd here tonight, and there were so many people who loved her, I don’t see how it could have
happened any other way, I began. Memories had flown through my head as I spoke.
I believe they had known my Grandpa was going to die long before he did. His heart kept
“getting sick” as my Mom would have said. I had just turned seven years old. He was one of the few
people in my life that I knew I could depend on. He laughed at my jokes but he also let me know when I
was wrong about something.
My mom drove me to school for a couple of weeks after the funeral instead of having me ride the
bus. It was just her and I, back then. She said she enjoyed having my company in the morning, anyways.
One of the many conversations we had has – and always will stick out in my mind. It happened
somewhere along that time, probably on a Tuesday. Everything that was important happened on a
Tuesday.
“Mommy, what did Granny mean when she said that Grandpa “passed away”? I thought he just
died.”
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