Wednesday and Thursday passed in a blur. Louise was cremated early Wednesday morning. There was always a small odor when a body was cremated at Mort's. The family for the most part had gotten used to it, but they still knew it was there. Mort was kind enough to give them the exact time he would be cremating Louise. Bob could not stomach the thought of smelling his daughter's cremation. Just the thought of being next door to "that" being done. He needed to get away. Tina and Gene were uncomfortable with the thought as well. Big Bob ended up taking the family with him to check on things at the diner. Gene sat at the counter wolfing down the ice cream sundae a sympathetic waiter had given him. Bob sat alone in the back booth and cried. Tina paced around the back corner mumbling Louise's name.
Linda remained at the hotel with her parents. Much to Bob's chagrin she returned to the apartment only to collect more of her possessions. Bob moved the clothes and trinkets she left behind around to make her closet and shelves appear fuller just in case Gene wandered into their room. Louise was now cremated, and the Belchers could no longer visit her. Bob knew they would have her back on Sunday. They would be able to take her home with them and keep her there. Maybe forever but at least until they decided where exactly to lie her to rest. Still Bob struggled with not being able to see her. As a result, he spent most of Wednesday and all-day Thursday curled up in the fetal position on his bed crying his eyes out. He was eternally grateful to his father for caring for Tina and Gene in his absence. His mind went to his own childhood. When his mom died, and it was largely just his dad and him. Even on the worst days Big Bob had to make sure all his needs were met. He was starting to understand why his dad went off the rails so bad after losing his mom.
It was Friday now, and an entire week had passed since the accident. Tina was still waking up at the exact moment that Louise died. Once she woke up, she could not go back to sleep, and she was having trouble falling asleep at night. She had only slept maybe twelve hours since the accident. She had bags under her eyes, and she was struggling to follow even basic conversations. Sometimes she would zone out in the middle of a conversation or during one of the home movies she kept watching, but she would always wake after just a couple of minutes. With the exception of Monday Zeke had been over every day sine the Belcher's returned home. They agreed returning to the park wasn't the best idea. They mostly walked along the beach or around Ocean Avenue. Zeke was so patient with her, and she loved how he held her in his arms when she broke down. Beside Susimita he was the only one of her friends who reached out to her. It wasn't so bad with Dylan and Becky. Dylan was probably grounded from her phone again and Becky didn't interact much with the Wagstaff kids since moving to Bog Harbor shortly after the Jimmy Junior incident. What did hurt was Tammy and Jocelyn who hadn't even sent a text. Jimmy Junior was even worse though. He was all over social media claiming his father was innocent and Louise was to blame for the incident.
Friday morning and Gene was alone in their room. They didn't understand why they only saw their mom at the funeral home and why she had not returned home. Tina had promised him that she would return but they were beginning to worry that she would not return. They were working on their song for Louise. It was messy but it was coming along. It was their only distraction from the pain. Their arm was killing them but at the follow up in Bog Harbor yesterday everything was shown to be healing fine. Besides the arm pain was nothing compared to the pain of losing Louise and their mom refusing to come home. The cruelest part about all of this. Was that as much as they adored their dad and Tina. It was their mom and Louise who were the ones to cheer them up at their lowest. They reached for the notebook but felt no inspiration. They returned it to it's spot on the nightstand and walked to the kitchen, fidgeting with the waist of their shorts on the way. They were already beginning to gain weight from all the emotional eating. It was the only thing they could control anymore. They opened the fridge and grabbed a random dish. They weren't even sure what it was. Just that they polished off half of it by himself.
One week, one entire had week had passed since Linda lost her baby girl. The week had been a blur of wine and tears. She barely remembered the sweet short time she had spent with Louise. Both on Wednesday and Thursday she had to be reminded that they had already cremated Louise, she would never be able to see her again. She had no memory of the trip to the apartment. Her only reminder was the suitcase that sat in the corner of the room. Louise always got so excited seeing the suitcase thinking they were going on a big adventure. Unfortunately, it was usually just a trip to Florida to see Gloria and Al or a trip to the shore to the family beach house. Just a few short hours away and not exactly the grand adventure that Louise had always dreamed about. Linda felt a tremendous amount of guilt for not being able to give Louise her adventure. She had always assumed that there would be time. Now time had run out. Another swig and the anger had returned. If Bob had ever thought about moving past the restaurant. If he had let the dream, go or at the very least moved past the basic concept of fancy hamburgers. They would have had more money and they could have taken the kids on adventures.
Bob could not fathom that he had lived seven days without Louise. Yes, her body had held on to another day and a half, but the Louise he knew was taken the second that car hit her. No, the Louise he knew was taken when he spoke his horrid last words to her. He was beginning to forget what it felt like to not be crying. His eyes had moved beyond red and stinging to red and burning. If it weren't for Big Bob practically force feeding him water, he would have grown dehydrated days ago. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. It had only been seven days, but he did not even recognize himself anymore. He forced himself to get dressed and stumbled to the kitchen. He saw Gene sitting at the table eating sugar straight out of the bag with a spoon. Ordinarily he would have said something to him, but he just didn't have the strength. He opened the paper and his heart dropped. He had completely forgotten that Louise's obituary would be running on that day. He had written the thing, but he still felt like he was reading it for the first time.
Louise Roberta Belcher
November 8th, 2012-September 18th, 2022
Louise was born to Bob and Linda Belcher
On November 8th, 2012. Born at only
Thirty-one weeks. Louise was initially
Not expected to survive the first week of life.
Louise defied the odds and soon was
Brought home to join siblings
Tina and Gene. Always a
Curious child. Louise would frequently
Get into trouble with her friends
Rudy and Jessica. Louise loved animals and
Japanese culture. She treasured her Kuchi Kopi and
Her other collectables. She was never seen without
Her pink bunny hat. Made by her mother to honor
Her grandmother. Louise's life was cut short following
A tragic accident on September Sixteenth. For two days
Sought bravely for her life. Before dying from complications on
Sunday September 18th at one forty-five in the morning.
Louise is survived by parents Bob and Linda Belcher.
Siblings Tina and Gene Belcher. Maternal grandparents Gloria and Al
Gennaro and Aunt Gayle Gennaro. Paternal grandfather Robert Belcher
Senior. She is preceded into death by paternal grandmother
Tina Belcher. Services will be held Sunday September 25th at
It's Your Funeral Home and Crematorium. Followed by a brief
Reception at her family's restaurant Bob's Burgers. In lieu of flowers please
Consider donations to Ronald McDonald house. Where the family spent
The beginning and the ending of Louise's life. Also consider
MADD or SADD, The Shinji Kojima Foundation, or Animal House, Animal Shelter.
Rudy clipped his best friend's obituary from the newspaper. He wondered if Millie had seen the obituary. Probably not. Last, he had heard she remained hospitalized. Louise was dead and Millie was in a psychiatric hospital. Just a week ago he had been planning to play with Louise and he had gone to a Thinkgineers meeting with Millie. The world really could change in an instant. He was with his dad now. Normally he loved the weekends he spent with his dad. Sylvester was a little more liberal with the rules than his mom. This week however he didn't care to do much anything. The next day they would go shopping for a suit. To wear to his best friend's funeral. The service would be held on Sunday. Tina had told him that Louise had been cremated. He would never even be able to see her again. He knew her body was damaged in a scary way, but he wanted so badly to see her again.
While Gene was rapidly gaining weight, Tina and Bob were rapidly losing weight. Bob struggled to remember to eat and anytime he did remember something would happen that would kill his appetite. Tina was eating regularly but every little thing seemed to make he sick to her stomach anymore. Despite paying to run Louise's obituary along with helping greatly with the funeral costs. Big Bob insisted on buying new clothes for the family. That's how the family found themselves leaving the apartment for only the second time in five days. Making the journey to OMG Mall. The first major trip without Louise. Their first stop with Tween U and Me to shop for Tina and Gene.
Tina walked up and down the aisles looking for the perfect outfit. Finding a skirt was easy. She found skirt in the same style as her usual navy blue one. Except it was pink and green plaid. Finding a shirt was much harder. Everything was either too sad or so happy. She knew they wanted to try and keep things as happy as they could, but it felt a little wrong. She knew that is what Louise would have wanted, but it still felt wrong. Mainly because she was seriously doubting if she would ever feel happiness again. As she was rounding a corner, she saw a family enter the store. They were just a couple of years younger than the Belchers. A mom and a dad and three kids an older girl and a younger girl with a boy in the middle. Tina noticed how the mother and father joked around as they sat in the parent waiting area. She noticed how the older daughter headed straight for the boy band shirts. While the boy was distracted by a shelf of small musical instruments ukuleles, harmonicas, act. Then there was the younger girl. She grabbed a couple of outfits identical to the one she was already wearing. She donned a purple hat with mouse ears. Tina knew such hats had gained popularity recently thanks to a cartoon where the characters wore hats matching their spirit animal. Still, she reminded Tina so much of Louise. She covered her mouth and raced for the bathroom. Her throat stung; it stung constantly the past couple of days. Slowly she made her way back to the store. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the perfect shirt. A lime green baby doll tee with a small pink rabbit on it. She grabbed it from the rack and headed over to join the Bobs.
Ordinarily they adored clothes shopping, but Gene hated this trip. They hated that they had to buy clothes for Louise's funeral. Like Tina they had no problem finding pants. They just picked a pair of dark blue jeans. Unlike Tina they didn't struggle to accept his ability to celebrate Louise's life. it was just impossible to find anything that felt compatible with Louise in the boy's section. Even though they were out as genderfluid and excepted by the whole family. They didn't know if it would be appropriate to wear girls' clothes to Louise's funeral. Especially given how homophobic Gloria and Al could be. Finally, they gave up. If they were supposed to honor Louise. They needed to do what she wanted. They walked over to the girls' section. They quickly found a pink blouse. They had to try on three sizes but finally found one that fit perfectly. They walked with the family to the checkout. The cashier was teenage girl with black hair and piercings.
"Oh fun! Are you going to an eighties party? My uncle and his husband run the cutest little vintage shop and they are doing an eighties week! You should check them out!" Stella cried.
"Uh no we are going to my sister's funeral. She liked green and pink." Gene corrected voice cracking.
"Oh, I am so sorry" Stella apologized.
The next shop was a regular adult clothing store to buy clothes for the Bobs. Big Bob quickly selected a lime green button down and a pair of khakis. Bob on the other hand understood why it took Tina and Gene so long to pick out one outfit. He bought a pair of khakis but also struggled to find a shirt. It was harder to find shirts that matches his desires for Louie's service in the men's department. Unlike Gene he could not just show up in a women's shirt. It didn't help that his eyes were blurred by tears, and he was so tired he could barely stand. They left the first store and headed to another. They must have been to every adult clothing store in the mall. Before they passed the Hot Topic. It was their Bob found the perfect shirt. He didn't even know mainstream stores sold "Hawk and Chick" shirts. The cashier was a young boy who looked like he had just stepped out of the nineties.
"Aw Hawk and Chick! I used to watch this with my dad and sister!" Taylor cried.
"My daughter loves it or loved it." Bob sniffed.
"Oh, I am sorry. My sister died a few years ago. We were riding our bikes. I was going too fast down a hill. I was about to hit a car. She sped up and grabbed me but fell off her bike and under the wheels of a truck. She died instantly. My mom left and my dad ended up well remember that guy who hung himself in the Sears dressing room? It was the manager here who adopted me. She found me wandering around. They knew my dad had a kid and she distracted me while everything was happening. I had to go to foster care for a while, but she ended up taking the classes to adopt me even though she was only twenty-one." Taylor explained.
"Oh, I am sorry." Bob whispered.
"No, I am sorry. I shouldn't talk about stuff like that with customers. It's just hard. I am sorry." Taylor sobbed.
"No, it is nice to know I am not alone. Obviously, I know I am not but well that's similar to what happened Louise." Bob assured.
Upon returning home the first thing Tina did was call Zeke. She needed to talk to somebody. Somebody who would go at her pace. Who would talk about Louise when she wanted but avoid the subject when she needed. Even though it was getting late Zeke came right over. It was dark and neither wanted to be on the streets. Actually, it wasn't getting dark. Tina looked to the clock and was again sick. It had been exactly a week since the accident. One week since the Belcher family was shattered. Zeke cleaned up the mess and held her close.
"I am sorry, T Bird." Zeke whispered.
"Die Rhymes with Cry!" Tina cried.
"Do what?" Zeke questioned.
"It's the Boyz 4 Now" song we are supposed to play at Louise's funeral. Mort said he needed me to download it." Tina explained.
"Well let's do that." Zeke replied.
Moments later the pair were sitting under Louise's bed. Tina was at the desk typing away on the laptop and Zeke was in the bean bag chair. Tina went to a Boyz 4 Now site that she knew was legit and that offered free or cheap downloads of songs. She downloaded it onto the laptop and then onto her flash drive. She unplugged the drive but then felt the urge to hear the song. She went back to the file folder and clicked on the song.
Girl you weren't in class today.
Oh, I missed you today.
Asked the teacher where you were
She said somebody you loved died.
Well at first, I thought that she lied.
Well, you asked why? Why?
Well don't you know?
Die rhymes with cry!
Went to your house.
Your dad answered the door.
He had tears in his eyes.
You weren't up for guests.
Cause somebody you
Loved died!
Well, you asked why? Why?
Well don't you know?
Die rhymes with cry!
Went suit shopping with my mom.
I wanted to buy a video game!
But the suit was more important!
Cause somebody you love died!
Well, you asked why? Why?
Well don't you know?
Die rhymes with cry!
Well, you asked why? Why?
Well don't you know?
Die rhymes with cry!
Don't cry! Yeah, don't cry!
Even though somebody you loved died!
Well, you asked why? Why?
Well don't you know?
Die rhymes with cry!
Well, you asked why? Why?
Well don't you know?
Die rhymes with cry!