Milton Van Pelt died in a car crash in the summer of 1957. He left behind his wife, Frances Van Pelt, and three children.
Schroeder's parents took him to the funeral. They weren't very close with the Van Pelts themselves, but Mr. Van Pelt had been the pastor at the local church. It was "the thing to do", according to Schroeder's father. It was just as well; he wanted to attend for his friends' sake.
A few of their other friends were there with their parents, too, but none of them strayed from their families. It didn't seem right to.
He walked with his mother and father to the front of the chapel to pay condolences to the family. It was mostly the adults that talked. Linus thanked Schroeder for coming in a quiet voice. Lucy didn't say anything at all. Schroeder didn't push her.
When they sat down for the ceremony, the Browns sat with Schroeder's family. He, Charlie Brown, and Sally were in the middle of the pew with their parents on either end. He hadn't ever seen Charlie Brown in a full suit and tie before. It was sobering.
As the funeral went on, Mrs. Van Pelt picked up Rerun from where he sat beside her to try and stop his confused tears, but it didn't do much good when she was crying herself. Lucy held Linus's hand and they wept together.
She didn't visit Schroeder's house for a week after that. He knew why, but it still made him feel weird. Like he should be doing something. He couldn't shake the image of her shoulders shuddering, or the sound of her sobs from the other end of the church, audible over the organ music.
He asked his mother on the 8th day if he could visit Linus and Lucy's house. It wasn't that he needed permission – he was really asking if she thought it was a good idea, since he almost never went to their house (she usually came to his), and he didn't know if enough time had passed for the visit to not be rude. She nodded, patted his cheek, and said she thought it was a wonderful idea, and that he was a thoughtful young man.
So, he picked his toy piano up from where it sat on the floor and made the walk to the Van Pelt house.
Linus answered the door and smiled in surprise. "Schroeder!"
"Hi, Linus. I thought I'd… is it okay if I come in?"
"Of course."
Schroeder set the instrument down in the living room and settled in front of it. "I wanted an audience for this Schubert piece I need to practice. Didn't your dad have a Schubert record?"
He cringed at himself. Of course he would remember which composer was playing when he last visited their house two years ago. And of course he would bring up his friends' recently-lost parent without thinking about what he was saying first.
Luckily, the memory made Linus smile, albeit a bit sadly. "Yeah, he did. That would be really nice, Schroeder. Charlie Brown and Sally visited yesterday, and we still have some of the cookies they brought. We can eat those! Oh, wait – let me get Lucy. She'll want to listen, too."
As Linus went to retrieve his sister and the snacks, Schroeder did a few warmup bars to occupy the empty seconds. Why did he still feel so antsy?
Lucy emerged from the hallway a moment later. She had bags under her eyes, but otherwise seemed to be faring a little bit better than she had been a week ago. "Schroeder? What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "Like I told Linus. I wanted an audience."
She smiled, a genuine, grateful smile, and his shoulders relaxed. He even gave her a smile back.
Lucy took her usual spot at the end of his piano, and Linus sat to the left of it, setting a plate on the side table and leaning against the couch. Schroeder let the music do the rest of the talking, and the children had a moment's rest from everything beyond it.