Page 28 of Somebody Else Will

I shook my head as her grandmother grabbed my hand. After hugging her, I was about to walk away, but Denishia grabbed my hand. “Please stay with me, Ezekiel.”

I nodded and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as the funeral procession began. The church was mostly empty, maybe about twenty to thirty people in attendance. Being that the church was large, probably boasting a maximum capacity of a thousand or two, it really made it look empty.

As I held her, I glanced around and noticed her ex was in attendance. Hopefully, there would be no drama about that. He obviously knew her mother, although Ms. Patsy didn’t seem to care for him. His ass had better not be here to try to console Denishia though. She no longer needed him in that capacity. That was my role.

The closer we got to the casket, the tighter Denishia’s grip became. She’d circled her arms around my waist and was somehow walking while resting her head against the front part of my shoulder. Lowering my head slightly, I kissed herforehead, then began rubbing her back in a circular motion, trying my best to comfort her.

I knew there was nothing I could do besides be here to make things better. She was experiencing one of the most devastating times of her life. When her grandmother wailed, I could feel Denishia’s body quake. She remained silent though. For whatever reason, she seemed to be trying to hold in her emotions.

Her grandmother bent over and laid her head on Ms. Patsy’s body, causing Denishia to bury her face into my chest. That visual was a lot, even for me. I held her close until her grandmother was able to compose herself enough to go to her seat. Jamia and Jerzey helped her, along with a couple of other ladies I assumed were family members or funeral home employees.

“Come on, baby,” I said softly near Denishia’s ear.

She lifted her head and walked to the casket to view her mother’s body. When she got closer, she stopped and just stared at her mother. I expected something similar to what her grandmother had done, but that didn’t happen. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second or two, then walked to her seat.

I followed her and sat next to her, immediately putting my arm around her, wishing I could bear the hurt for her. As soon as she was ready to leave the repast, I would take her home and do my best to do just that.

The funeral servicewas a beautiful celebration of Ms. Patsy’s life. It seemed I got to really know her through thepictures and a couple of funny stories the preacher shared. He did really well lifting everyone’s spirits, helping them to focus on the good times they shared with her, and encouraging them to hold those memories close. She would always be with them.

I could imagine that wasn’t as soothing when you were in the moment, but hopefully, Denishia would look back on this day down the road and remember those words, allowing them to comfort her when grief seemed unbearable.

I rode in the family car with her, Jamia, Jerzey, her grandmother, and another lady, who was introduced to me as Ms. Patsy’s favorite cousin. The ride was pretty quiet to and from the cemetery, just soft talking between Jamia and Jerzey. We were on our way back to the church for the repast. Since there weren’t a lot of people at the funeral, I had to assume there would be even less at the repast. That meant there would be a minimal amount of people Denishia had to force conversation with.

Once the car parked, the driver got out and opened the door for us, then offered his condolences and left us there. Jamia informed me that the cousin had only ridden to the cemetery with them, so she had a car in the parking lot here at the church. I would be taking them to Denishia’s grandmother’s house once all was said and done.

I grabbed Denishia’s hand, and she gave me a slight smile. “Are you sure you weren’t supposed to be in New York? I feel like you were supposed to leave this morning. Please tell me you didn’t cancel your trip.”

“I didn’t cancel my trip. My agent called before my mother’s party to say they moved the audition up. I would have had to fly out Tuesday last week. I turned it down because I didn’t want to risk being stuck in New York and miss my mama’s party. The weather wasn’t looking too great out there last week.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Something else will come along. I wanted to surprise you by being here today.”

She smiled and continued to the church’s entrance. I opened the door for everyone, allowing them all to walk ahead of me. Once I stepped in, Denishia grabbed my hand again, leading me to where the repast would be served. We took a left down a hallway, and the minute we did, we saw her ex-boyfriend standing there.

As long as he wasn’t disrespectful, I would keep my cool. He glanced down at our joined hands, and a slight frown appeared on his face. Once we were closer to him, he said, “Hi, Denishia. You have my condolences. Hey, Grandma. I’m sorry about Miss Patsy.”

“Thank you,” Denishia said as her grandmother hugged him.

I didn’t take offense to that. I noticed she hugged everyone she came in contact with. Before we could enter the dining hall, he asked, “Denishia, can I talk to you for a minute?”

She frowned. “No. We have nothing to talk about.”

I turned my attention to him. I refused to look away from him until he nodded and walked off. It wasn’t a nod of acceptance. It seemed to be one of those nods that said,Yeah, okay. We gon’ see.I just hoped I was around whenever he came back, because I knew she hadn’t seen the last of him. Niggas always did the most when a woman they mistreated moved on… like he was the victim.

Denishia glanced up at me. “I’m sorry. I had to call the police on him yesterday. They arrested him. Obviously, they either let him go or he bonded out this morning.”

“What happened?” I asked, feeling the heat flood my face.

“He was at the flower shop when we got back from Houston. I refused to allow him inside the building. I don’t even know how he knew I would be there, being that it was a Sunday. I’m rarelyat the shop on Sundays. That’s my day to rest and prepare for my work week.”

I nodded and followed her inside the dining hall to see the servers standing around talking, waiting for us to arrive. There were about fifteen people seated, waiting for us to arrive as well. I was surprised they hadn’t been served.

“I like that they didn’t serve anyone until Denishia and Miss Julia got here. No one should eat before them,” Jerzey said.

I nodded in agreement as her phone rang. She glanced at me and said, “Sorry. That’s my sister, Keonshay. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and Jamia said, “Tell her I need to talk to her later.”

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