From The Wreckage - Complete (13 page)

"Once upon a time there were three little girls. These little girls walked into their Kindergarten classroom having never met. They walked out of it best friends for life. You see, they all had something in common." Jules stops and looks at the casket with a small smile. "They all wore the same purple 'Hello Kitty' backpack slung across their little shoulders." The crowd chuckles lightly as she finishes. “Kindred spirits they were, from day one."

She slides a few inches to the left and Katie starts to speak.

"Through grade school, these little girls remained the best of friends. They begged their parents to put them in the same dance classes, and they played soccer together…somewhat miserably, I might add." Another wave of soft laughter runs through the crowd at the joke. "They took tumbling and cheerleading together. They were inseparable."

"Middle school came and went, and never did a day go by where these best friends didn't speak. They talked about boys, T.V. shows and how to pass Ms. Simpson's Algebra class in the eighth grade. See, there was something special about these girls."

Katie clears her throat and Jules squeezes her hand as she finishes her part of the speech. "It didn't matter what came along, they weren’t about to let anything come between them. Tanya was too hardheaded for that. The most formidable of the three, she never backed down from her two best friends. She was the glue that kept them all together when something threatened to tear them apart." 

"You see, we are two of those little girls. Me and Katie. Tanya..." Jules stops and swallows hard before looking over at Tanya's family and scanning the faces of friends from school; the other cheerleaders from their squad, the football players. Her gaze runs past Ruben and Tommy. Tommy, who was the last one with her that fateful night. Jeff sits next to Tommy, and next to Jeff she locates West. She didn’t see him before the funeral started. She knew he was there somewhere because he said he would be, but laying eyes on him...well, that makes her close her eyes briefly. When she opens them again, he nods. It’s almost imperceptible, a small nod of support, but it’s a small shot of the strength only he can provide, and she continues. "Tanya was our third. We were more than best friends, we were sisters. And now there are two where there should be three." 

"Tanya hated goodbyes,” Katie says. “She told us after her grandfather's funeral several years ago that she never wanted to say goodbye again. Said it was too sad; too permanent. So today instead of saying goodbye to our beautiful friend, we'll say, ‘Until we meet again’”. Katie recites her last line and looks over at Jules to finish.

"Tanya, until we meet again, Katie and I will continue to hold you in our hearts and in our lives. There hasn’t been an event in our lives where you weren't one of the first to know, and now you’ll
always
be the first. We both know full well
you
are the angel on our side in everything we do. How lucky we are to have you watching over us. I'd rather have you here with me, but..." Tears begin to clog Jules’ throat as she speaks. "If we can't have you here, there’s no one we'd rather have on our side up there than you. I love you, Tanya. I miss you my best friend…my sister."

Katie and Jules walk around and down to the casket where they stop. Their backs to the crowd, they both place their hands on Tanya's casket as the song they picked for Tanya starts to play in the background. They picked the song 'You'll Be In My Heart' by Phil Collins from the movie ‘Tarzan’. When they were little, they used to watch it all the time and sing into their little karaoke radios. They wrap their arms around each other's waists and hug for a moment before heading over to Tanya's parents and hugging them, her older sister and then her extended family as their song plays on.

Hand in hand, they walk around to their seat on the second pew. Tanya's parents had insisted they sit with the family. When she sits down she looks two rows back, where her parents sit with Jason snuggled in between them. Katie's mom sits next to Jules, and she smiles at them as they take their seats.

The rest of the service goes by quickly. Jules stares at the casket the entire time, her arm linked with Katie's, as they listen to Tanya's childhood Sunday school teacher speak. A final hymn plays and then it is over. The family is escorted out first, with Jules and Katie following behind. As she passes the row with the boys, they all send sad smiles at her. West is on the far end, but he leans forward and catches her eye for one brief moment as she passes.

Near the back of the church she finally locates Stuart and her stomach flips. He is in the first seat of the row, next to his parents. He leans towards his mom and whispers something before he stands. When they are about five pews away, he steps out into the aisle to meet her and pulls her into his arms. Katie pulls away as Jules’ arms go around Stuart's shoulders. She buries her head in his neck and the dam of tears bursts forth. They aren’t loud, unruly sobs, but soft tears flowing down her cheeks. 

"You did so good, doll," he whispers into her ear and tightens his arms around her back.

Jules can tell by the noise passing her, the quiet chatter and sniffling, that people are starting to leave the chapel, but she remains pressed against his neck as he tries to edge out of the aisle. There is a graveside burial to head to next, and although she’s supposed to ride with her parents, suddenly she wants to stay with Stuart. 

"Jules, we need to head out," he prods, and pulls her arms from his neck gently. "Can I ride with you?"

She nods and wipes away the tears as she looks beyond his shoulder at his parents. Jules offers Stuart's parents a small wave before they step out into the bright sunlight to find her parents. Stuart's arm rests along her waist; his hand resting on her hip as they stand in a makeshift receiving line. She spots Katie, and together they stand and accept warm words from mourners and several hugs from teachers and coaches as they leave the chapel. 

When most of her cheerleading squad walks up, they all step into a group hug. Everyone has red eyes and tissues in their hands, and Jules listens as they speak about one thing or another that stood out to them from the service. Behind her, Jules hears masculine voices and turns to see Ruben and some of the team talking with Stuart. 

She excuses herself and steps away from her squad to sneak behind Stuart, where Tommy is standing quietly. His eyes widen when he spots her, and he takes a step forward. 

"You did a good job," he offers as she stops before him. "Tanya would have been proud."

Jules huffs. "No, she wouldn't have. She would've threatened to slap us for being all sappy and sentimental."

Tommy chokes on a smile. "You're probably right."

She looks at the black cast he wears on his arm. She doesn’t know everything that happened Friday, but she knows they ran, and when they realized they couldn't outrun the tornado they threw themselves in a culvert with a large group of other students. 

Tornado Safety Tip: If you can't get to safety, lie flat and face-down on low ground, and protect the back of your head with your arms.
 

They were taught that message in school for years, and it's what they did. It worked for all but two of them; Tanya and another Hillsdale student, a senior named Mike Brown who was well known and well liked as a bit of a class clown type. His was the first funeral she went to, last Tuesday.

Apparently Tommy's arm was broken by some falling debris as they lay there covering their head. The tornado went by the culvert they'd hidden in, but it was the debris that turned deadly.

"I really liked her, you know," Tommy confesses; his hand rubbing against his cast.

"She liked you too, Tommy." 

He looks past her head and nods. "Hey, my parents are waving for me to go. I'll see you later?" he asks and she agrees, hoping they will be able to talk some more. She stands to the side, behind Stuart and the guys on the football team, when Stuart's mom walks up beside her.

"How are you doing, sweetie? How's your mom and dad?"

"They're okay. Jason is having a hard time, but..."

She starts to say, 'We're all alive,' but it sounds so crude in this situation. 

"But it's hard. This is going to take a while to recover from. This town will be hurting for a long time."

Jules looks at Stuart's beautiful mother's face, observing the almost bitter look there. She knows it’s true. She's learned enough about natural disasters in Social Studies and watched enough newscasts to know how long it takes to get over something of this magnitude. But they
will
get over it.
Texas wasn't built on the backs of yuppies
, she thinks. Texas is full of cowboys, farmers and indomitable southern people who take pride in their land and their country. 

"You ready to go?" Stuart asks and slips his arm around her.

"I suppose we should," she agrees reluctantly and gives his mom a quick hug as they leave to find her car.

Her parents drove separate vehicles so one of them could take Jason home instead of going to the grave site. She sits in the back seat with Stuart, his hand resting on her thigh, as her mother drives them slowly to the cemetery, following the funeral procession heading that way.

They’re silent the entire drive. Stuart acts a little nervous, throwing small smiles at her whenever she looks at him. 

"How was your trip to your grandparents’, Stuart?" her mother asks when the silence apparently becomes too much for her.

Jules feels his hand flex on her leg before he answers. "It was nice. Obviously, they were so relieved we were safe. You know my mother, too — she's having a hard time dealing with the chaos here."

"Aren't we all?" Jules murmurs more to herself than to them. Her mom nods in agreement; whether it is with Stuart or Jules’ own comment, she isn’t sure.

"Can you come back to my house after the service?" Stuart asks softly, and it takes Jules a moment to realize he is talking to her.

"There's a reception at the Rivera's house afterwards."

"Oh...well can we go for a bit, and then you come back with me?" 

"I guess. Mom?"

"Of course you can, hun."

Stuart gives her another nervous smile before he looks out the window. Jules follows suit and watches out the window as they pull into the cemetery and park. 

She looks at the backs of the people in front of her, wearing black and crossing the grass to Tanya's final resting place. When she steps out of the car, Stuart reaches for her hand, but she feigns needing to fix her hair and he ends up stuffing his hands in his pockets instead. She crosses her arms over her chest and rubs the non-existent chills from her bare arms. 

Tanya's parents picked a beautiful spot next to a pond, with huge shade trees and benches along a path. As they move closer to the plot, she scans the crowd and the many faces of her friends. She notes arms wrapped around waists and shoulders with hands clasped tightly. People she never knew were friends are holding onto each other. Once again, she is struck with the way this event has changed everything. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she finds a dark head of messy hair standing in the middle of the crowd. He’s taller than most of the students he stands by, which makes him easy to recognize. She never paid much attention to how much he'd grown over the years. He’s probably a good three inches taller than Stuart and a head taller, if not more, than the girls around him.

She stops walking when she sees him, and a strange jolt of jealousy streams through her as she watches him wrap an arm around the shoulders of the girl next to him. The girl has straight blonde hair with a black, lace-looking headband on, but she can’t get a look at her face to know who it is. 

"Jules?" 

Turning away from West's profile, she looks at Stuart. "I need to sit with the family. Mrs. Rivera asked me and Katie to sit there," she remembers; placing her hand on his arm lightly. "Sorry; I should have told you before.

"Oh." He looks around and nods his head towards a group of their friends. "I'll be with the guys, then." 

They stand there for a moment and Jules recognizes how truly awkward things seem between them. Trying to cover it, she steps to him and places a light kiss on his cheek before walking towards Tanya's family.

The burial service is much like the other three she's been to this week. A few last words, biblical passages, tearful moments watching family members remove flowers from the large bouquet draped over a gleaming casket. Jules scans the faces of the crowd a few times, although she takes great care to keep from looking directly at West. She finds her mother, who offers her a weak, tearful smile. Stuart, who is standing with Jeff, Ruben and Tommy, never meets her glances when she looks his way. He looks deep in thought, staring up at the sky and trees or with his head bent slightly towards the ground.

She knows a moment of surprise as her eyes drift past Carter, Tanya's summer fling. Similar to everyone else around him, he looks somber. Beside him stands a younger girl whose eyes look red and puffy. At closer inspection, Jules notices how much she resembles Carter and guesses the girl might be his sister or some other close family member. She wonders why he would bring her here, and then wonders why
he
is even there, but discards those thoughts almost immediately. She knew they’d had a relationship, regardless of how brief it was. She’s glad he came to say goodbye to her.