Page 73 of Forgotten Deeds

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lily

“You look beautiful,” Darius comments, leaning against the door jamb of the bathroom. I chose a demure black dress and my evil eye pendant for this somber event.

“Thank you, Darius,” I tell him, closing my lip gloss before walking over and giving him a quick kiss. Grabbing my clutch from the bed, I toss both my phones inside.

“You sure you don’t want me to go with you?” he asks as we walk downstairs.

I shake my head. “Thanks, but it would just raise too many questions.”

“Lily, what have I told you?” he chides.

“I know, I just think it’d be better if Iris and I went to Harrison’s funeral by ourselves,” I tell him gently. “Iris, sweetie, it’s time to go,” I call.

She emerges from her room holding Lucky. “Bye, Lucky.” Iris kisses her cat on the top of the head before letting her down.

“Where’s my hug?” Darius asks.

Iris smiles, running over to him. He scoops her up and twirls her around before giving her a big bear hug. “Bye, rainbow goddess. You and your mama be careful, alright?”

“We will,” I assure him.

Darius helps me get Iris buckled, and I give him one last kiss before backing out of the driveway. I flip on Iris’ favorite music as we drive to the church; she’s uncharacteristically quiet on the car ride.

Parking, I get her out of the SUV, reminding her, “It’s alright to be sad today if you need to be.”

“Okay,” is all she says.

I take her little hand in mine, and we step inside the church lobby. Several people are waiting to sign the guest book, and Iris and I get in line. Reaching the front, I sign my name and give the pen to Iris, because she wants to write her own name.

“Good job,” I tell her. She took up half the page writing her name in all caps, but she’s Harrison’s daughter, so if she wants to take up the entire guest book, I’m not going to say anything.

Entering the sanctuary, we’re greeted by a man who hands us a program, and I scan the crowd. Ethan’s in his uniform with a row of patrolmen seated near the middle of the church. He cranes his neck and spots us, waving us over.

We make our way down the aisle until we reach him, and all the officers slide down the pew to make room. “Hey, Lily. Iris. Please.” Ethan gestures to the seat next to him.

“Thank you.” I take a seat, with Iris crawling into my lap.

Ethan introduces us to the officers, and I smile politely, while Iris fiddles with the program.

“That’s Harrison’s old man on the right front row,” Ethan leans over and whispers to me.

“This is the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on the man, but I can see the resemblance,” I whisper back.

“Maybe he thinks he’ll be coming into some money. Don’t know why else he’s here,” Ethan speculates.

I can’t imagine there’s much money to go around, considering Harrison never seemed to have any to support his daughter, but I bite my tongue.

“What’s that?” Iris asks, pointing to the front of the church.

“That’s the casket.” Thank God it’s a closed one. “It’s what your dad’s body will be buried in. But he’s in heaven now, so we don’t have to worry,” I assure her.

The service begins, and Iris wriggles in my lap. She’s bored, not that I can blame her—the preacher is especially long-winded. We stand to join in a hymn, except Iris doesn’t want to stand; instead, she plops down on the floor, taking off her shoes.

Sighing, I squat down and pick her up—her bare feet now dangling from my hip. Ethan gives us a little smile before his eyes land on my ring. His eyebrows shoot up in question, but the song ends, and we’re instructed to have a seat.

“Excuse me,” Ethan says quietly, slipping out of the pew and walking to the podium. He gives a touching eulogy about his fallen partner. Regardless of any personal animosity I harbor toward Harrison, it’s nice to hear someone speak highly of Iris’ dad.

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