Chapter 11
The sound of people rustling around him was coming back faintly. The more Danny tried to open his eyes the more his head throbbed. After a few more seconds he could hear everything that was being said. Delinda had just walked in the door and was now panicking.
"How long has he been out? Should we call a doctor?" Delinda was asking in a rather fast passed tone.
"He's been out for about ten minutes. He'll be fine, I think that it's all the stress with Mary and what happened to him over there it was just too much." Ed said looking down at his protégé who he had carried over to the couch. Delinda walked further over and sat on the edge of the couch next to Danny and slipped her hand in his.
"Danny? Can you here me?" Delinda asked praying for a response. Danny could hear her perfectly well, but was having trouble responding. After much hard work he was able to mutter a few words.
"Delinda…I can hear you." He said tightening his grip around her hand. His eyes then opened as he tried to sit up. His body quickly told him that he wasn't ready to get up and he leaned back down. "How long have I been out?" Danny questioned looking from Delinda to Ed.
"About ten or fifteen minutes." Ed said looking to Danny for some kind of explanation.
"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked still not taking his stare off of Danny.
"Umm… I remember hugging Jillian and then I just felt really light headed." Danny said shaking his head trying to remember if there was anything he was leaving out.
"How do you feel now?" Delinda asked taking a glass of water from her mother and handing it to Danny.
Taking the water with a nod of the head Danny took a sip and thanked both Jillian and Delinda. "I feel better now. I still feel a little light headed, but it's getting better." Danny said setting the glass down on the coffee table while swinging his feet off of the couch and sitting upright. As he looked at his watch he saw that it read ten o'clock. "Has anyone heard from Mike or the girls?" Danny said looking at the Delines who were now all sitting around him.
"Oh, no I should probably give them a call and see where they are and where they're going to meet us." Ed said unclipping his phone from his belt. Hitting speed dial number four the phone rang loudly in his ear.
"Mikey, it's me. Where are you?" Ed asked through the phone.
"Oh hey Mr. D. I am just picking up Nessa and then I am going to go over to the hotel and pick up Sam. Why what's going on?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to know when and where you wanted to meet us."
"Well where's Danny? Should I pick him up too?" Mike asked starting to feel like he was a valet again.
"No, no Danny's with me. I just want to know where and when to meet you guys. Ed asked starting to get annoyed at the fact he had to keep repeating himself.
"Well I am walking up to Nessa's right now, so by the time I get her and pick Sam up it'll be let's see…" Mike looked down at his watch. "…roughly twenty to eleven. Wow I didn't realize we were running late, so I guess we'll just meet you at the funeral home then." Mike said reaching Nessa's apartment door.
"Yeah ok." Ed said looking down at his own watch. "Sounds good, we'll see you then." Hanging up his phone he turned back around to face Danny and his family.
"Well what did Mike say?" Danny asked curiously.
"He's picking the girls up now and he'll meet us there at quarter to eleven."
"ok" Danny said "I am going to call my dad and see if I should pick him up." he said taking his cell phone off his belt and flipping it open. He turned it on only to see that he had ten missed calls. "Geese, how many times did you guys call?" Danny asked smiling, looking up at Jillian and Ed.
"Only twice. Why?" Jillian asked wondering what he was talking about. Danny suddenly got a sick feeling in his stomach again and looked back down at his phone as he punched the button that would list all of the people who had called. Like Jillian said 'Ed Home' appeared twice. As he continued down the list his suspicions were confirmed. The other eight calls had been Mary. Not wanting to listen to the messages at that moment with everyone standing around him he exited out of the list and scrolled through his phone book until he came to his father's number.
Ed knew what had just happened and signaled for Jillian and Delinda to give them a minute. Jillian nodded her head at her husband and vacated the room with her daughter beside her. "It was Mary huh? The other calls they were Mary." He said walking over and sitting next to Danny. Danny nodded his head gripping his phone tightly, trying to fight back the tears. He didn't want to keep breaking down in front of Ed like he had been, so he changed the subject and hit the call button on his phone calling his dad's house.
"Hello." Larry McCoy answered the phone while adjusting his tie.
"Dad, it's me." Danny said in a low voice.
"Hey buddy, how are you holding up?" He said stopping what he was doing and sitting on the foot of his bed.
"I'm ok. I was calling to see if you wanted me to pick you up and drive over there together."
"Umm…where are you now?" Larry asked not really wanting his son to drive while he was in this type of condition.
"I'm at Ed's now, but I was planning on coming to get you."
"No, why don't you just go with Ed and I'll meet you there." Larry said hoping that Danny wouldn't try to argue with him. Danny obviously didn't have the energy so just replied with a simple 'ok' and hung up the phone. Right after Danny hung up with his father Ed's phone rang.
"Deline." He answered.
"Ed, this is Larry McCoy."
"Oh, hey thanks for getting back to me so quick." Ed said hoping to throw Danny off so he didn't know who he was talking to.
"Danny's sitting right there?" Larry asked
"Yeah, uh-huh." Replied Ed
"Ok then I'll get straight to the point. I don't want Danny driving today. So if you could somehow get him to go with you I would really appreciate it."
"Yeah, yeah I had the same thought myself, will do."
"Ok, thanks Ed."
"Yeah, buh-bye" Ed said hanging up the phone and turning back around to face Danny.
"That was my father wasn't it." Danny asked looking Ed in the eyes. Ed looked at his phone and considered lying to the young McCoy.
"Don't bother coming up with some lame excuse Ed." Danny said shaking his head. "I know that was my dad, I'm not sure what about, but the way he was talking to me and then your phone rings right after I hang up with him..."
Ed's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Yeah, ok that was your dad; he just didn't want you driving today. He's worried about you. And how did you know that it was him?" Ed asked looking at Danny suspiciously.
"Ed, I know you better then you think and I can read my dad like the back of my hand." Danny replied with a slight smirk on his face.
"Yeah, well what am I thinking right now?" Ed asked.
"That kid better wipe that smirk off his face before I smack it off." Danny said in a mimicking tone. Ed couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, maybe you do know me better then I thought." Ed said walking over to Danny and clapping him on the shoulder indicating for him to fallow. As the two walked into the kitchen, they saw Jillian and Delinda rushing around getting their purses and putting their high heels on. The two men stood and watched the women scurry around trying to get ready in time and smiled at one another.
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"You want to stay here? I'm just gonna run up and get her." Mike said looking over to Nessa.
"Yeah sure why not." Nessa said shrugging her shoulders.
"Ok." Mike said opening the car door and getting out. "Hey Jimmy, I'm gonna run upstairs and pick Sam up while Nessa waits in the car. So don't give her any grief about the car being parked in the drive way." Mike said to one of his old valet buddies while handing him a twenty dollar bill.
"No sweat Mr. Cannon." Jimmy said taking the money from Mike.
As Mike made is way through the casino and over to the elevators he couldn't help but get that same feeling in his gut that something was going to go wrong. Desperately trying to ignore it he shook his head clear of the thoughts that had been consuming his mind for the past day or so. He then pressed the number thirty button and felt the elevator begin to rise. A few short stops here and there and he arrived at floor thirty. Walking to Sam's room seemed like it took forever; maybe just because Mike was thinking about how different things were going to be now that Mary was gone. The atmosphere between the group of friends would change and Mike didn't like it one bit.
Finally reaching the door he outstretched his arm and knocked on the hotel room door. "Sam, it's Mike." The bald African American called from the hallway. There was no response. Mike again knocked on the door pleading for an answer. "Sam, please open the door." After a short pause Mike took out his wallet and pulled out his Montecito key card. "Sam I'm coming in." Mike warned her through the door. As he entered the room he saw no trace of Sam. Then as he looked to his right into the bedroom area of the suite he saw Sam lying on the bed curled up in a ball. "Sam!" Mike called rushing over to her aid. "Sam are you alright?" Mike questioned with a sound of panic in his voice.
"I told myself I wouldn't let anyone else get close to me. So what do I do? I go and make friends. How stupid can I get? How many times do I have to go through this before I learn that I can't have friends?" Sam muttered as a single tear escaped the corner of her eye.
"Sam I know that you are upset, we all are, but right now we have to be there for Danny." Sam took her gaze off of the wall and looked at Mike in the eyes.
"Yeah, yeah you're right. Lets go." She said standing up and straightening her dress. Mike grabbed her purse for her while she checked her makeup one more time in the mirror.
"You ready?" Mike asked.
"Yep" she said sounding sure of herself, grabbing her purse form Mike and heading out the door. Mike soon followed shutting the door behind him. They made their way down to the car where Nessa sat reapplying her lipstick.
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"Are you two ready yet?" Ed asked sitting at the table with Danny playing crazy eights with a deck of cards he had pulled out of a nearby drawer.
"Almost." Jillian replied, while she put on one of her high heels with one hand and kept her balance with the other by holding onto one of Ed's shoulders. Ed took the deck of cards, put them back in the box, and placed them in the drawer.
"Ok, I'm ready." Delinda said walking into the kitchen putting her blazer on.
"Ok let's go." Ed said getting up from the table with Danny. The two men waited for Delinda and Jillian and walked them out to the car.
The four got onto Ed's red H2 Hummer. As the truck started up and headed out of gated area of the Deline home Danny got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was this it? Was he really going to Mary Connell's funeral, his best friend since childhood, and his future fiancé? As they pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home a little while later the feeling in Danny's stomach intensified. Ed parked the truck and they all got out. Danny took in a deep breath of the desert air hoping that it would get rid of the feeling in his stomach. It didn't. They walked into the lobby looking for someone who worked there. They waited for a few seconds ringing the bell for service, but got no answer. Finally Danny made his way down a hallway looking for any sign of someone that could help them. He continued down the short hallway and looked to his right into a wide, open, room. He walked in looking at the decorations. Suddenly his knees buckled and he through his arms up supporting himself on the wall.
Danny then straightened himself back up and walked over to what had startled him. As he reached the open coffin he laid his hand on the smooth wood. Danny stared down at Mary's face as a single tear escaped his eye. He slowly brought his other hand up and stroked her hair gently. "They didn't do your hair right did they?" Danny said talking to the lifeless body. Ed came up behind Danny in the room and stopped when he saw him talking to Mary; his heart crumbling into little pieces at the sight of Danny in pain. "I miss you so much. I should have done so many things different. I should have come to my senses earlier and married you before I deployed. I should have let those men take the money. I should have done a lot of things." Danny continued to stroke her hair. "When we were kids and my mom died I built up that wall so high hoping that I would never get hurt like my father did. Someway, somehow you slipped by without me even knowing it." He said smiling at her. "I was thinking last night about that day in the forth grade behind the swings. I wish so bad that we could go back to that day. I love you Mary Connell. I always have and I always will." He said then taking in a deep breath. Walking up behind him, Ed put a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"You ok?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, just caught me off guard that's all." He said shaking his head, still in shock at the sight of her.
"Come on, we'll be back in a little bit. Let's just go and fill out some papers."
"Yeah ok, I'll meet up with you." He said turning to look Ed in the eye. Ed nodded his head in understanding and turned to exit the room. Danny looked back down at Mary's motionless body and stroked her hair a few more times. Taking in a deep breath he turned to exit the room. As he made his way back to the lobby he could see Ed filling in the pieces of the paperwork that he could and skipping the rest. Danny came up to counter and Ed slid the pieces of paper over to him. He had done a relatively good job for only being her boss.
"Linn." Danny said simply as he glanced over the paper.
"Excuse me?" Ed said having no idea what Danny was speaking of.
"Mary's middle name…it is…it was her Linn." Danny said looking towards his feet now. A few seconds later he lifted his head and continued to fill in the bits of information that Ed had left blank. As he did so Nessa came walking through the door. She first hugged the Deline family.
"Where's Sam and Mike?" Ed asked letting go of her.
"They're on their way in. Sam is not handling this too well. All I could get out of her was that she hasn't been to a funeral since she was a kid and it didn't go well for her." Nessa said as she looked out the window to see Sam and Mike making their way to the door. Nessa then walked over to Danny who was still filling out the papers and put a hand on his arm. He stopped writing and tried to fight back the tears. He succeeded in his mission and then turned to Nessa as she pulled him down to her level and gave him a tight hug. "I am so sorry Danny." She said in her British accent. Danny nodded his head and pulled out of the hug. Just then Mike and Sam came walking in.
Sam immediately passed by the Delines and Nessa and went over to Danny. Throwing her arms around him she hugged him deeply as did he. Still hugging, Danny said to her "Thanks for coming. I know you don't do funerals." Then pulled out of the hug. Nessa stood with her mouth open as she learned that Sam had told Danny why she doesn't like funerals and not her. Danny and Sam always seemed to be at each others throats.
"Anything for Mary." Sam said backing up towards Delinda to give her a hug. Mike then came up to Danny and stood and looked him in the eyes for a moment before putting his arms around Danny giving him a hug. Not a half guy hug, but a real, sincere, hug that came from the heart. Mike did it out of the kindness of his heart and because he cared for both Mary and Danny, but it meant a lot to Danny coming from Mike.
"I'm sorry man." He said pulling out of the hug. The seven people stood in silence for a minute as Danny finished up the paperwork and then headed into the room where Mary was lying. The only people who have seen her so far are Danny and Ed so they stay towards the back of the group and let them go and pay their respects.
The crowd of people enter the dim room and the feeling in Danny's stomach comes back as he sees the look on all their faces when they see her. One by one they walk up to the casket. Danny and Ed observe from the back of the room.
"You seem to be handling this better then I thought." Ed said still watching his family and employees say their goodbyes.
"Well if you're comparing me to them…" Danny said referring to the people over by the casket. "…I have seen more dead bodies then they ever will, but if you're just referring in general then I guess my response would have to be that I am still in shock." Danny said not looking at Ed.
"I think your answer is right on both of those subjects." Ed said nodding his head up and down. "You know Danny, I don't want to put anymore stress on you today then you already have, but if you ever need to talk to someone about what happened over their or about Mary you know I am here for you." Ed said glancing up at Danny and then looking back towards his friends and family.
"I know." Danny said as he watched Jillian make her way over to them with tears streaming down her face. The rest of them soon followed with tears in their eyes as well. Danny then walked over to a table and pulled out a bag. The crew looked at him with looks of curiosity. One at a time Danny pulled out dozens of pictures of Mary, most of them with him in it. They pack of people all stared at the pictures of Mary full of life. Delinda picked one up and smiled as a single tear rolled off the tip of her nose. It was a picture of Mary and Danny at the age of seven both sporting cowboy hats; Mary's pink and Danny's green. "I gathered a bunch of these up, I was wondering if you guys could help me set them up around the place." All nodding their heads they each took a few pictures and began to disperse the photos around the room.
Ed came to one that he was in. It had been him and Mary at last years Christmas party. She had some mistletoe in her hand and raised it above his head kissing him on the cheek playfully. Ed had to smile as he put the photo down. As he looked around the room most of the pictures had at least one of the people in this room in it. It was then that he realized they were her family. Ed knew her father wasn't in her life and that her mother had passed away when she was little, it just never really dawned on him before then.
More and more people began to show up soon after they had set up all of the photos. Danny knew that Mary knew a lot of people, but the amount of people that showed up for the service was impeccable. He stood back and smiled as people still poured into the room.
Forty-five minutes later they all headed into the church where a few people got up to speak. Mike, Ed, and his dad all made beautiful speeches and laid a rose in with Mary. The last person to speak was Danny. The reverend called Danny up by the listing of Mary's fiancé and he began to shake. Slowly he got up and walked over to the podium pulling out a slip of paper. There was a long pause and then he began to speak.
"Mary and I have been best friends since we were two. We grew up together, we worked together, and we were going to spend the wrest of our lives together." Pause; Danny takes in a deep breath and his hands begin to shake "She was always thinking of other people and that's what I loved about her, along with her smile that could light up a room, and the way she was always a constant romantic." pause. "I walked into her apartment last night and I still expected to see her standing there in the doorway with that huge smile on her face. When she wasn't there … my heart broke all over again." He said sniffling and letting a tear roll down his face. "I love Mary Connell. I always have and I always will." He said taking a red rose and walking it down to Mary and placing it in her hands. The Red rose stuck out next to all of the white ones that had been placed in with her.
The reverend then said that he would like to have the family exit the room first. As Danny got up with his father he stopped to look behind him.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked with a look of curiosity on his face. "You are as much family to her as we are." He said to Luis, Ed, Jillian, Delinda, Sam, Nessa, and Mike. They all smiled at him and exited the room with the McCoy's. Shortly after they vacated the room the mass of people came walking out behind them.