~Gin's POV~
It's nine O'clock. I've just driven into the cemetary parking lot. I can see the hearse already here, along with my brother's rental car. I breathe in deeply let out a long slow breath. For a while, I was sad and then very happy. I've been relieved, incredibly angry, both for leaving me and for doing this to himself, but now...now, I've ascended to another level. I don't feel. This whole situation has drained me of emotion and I have no feelings, good or bad, towards this experience. I just want to be done with it and go on with my life. I don't know where I'll go from here, but I just don't want to be HERE any longer.
I watch my step as I quietly and demurely walk the path into the cemetary and towards the coffin. Auz is standing tall with his head tucked to his chest, once again in his dark, officer's uniform. His hands are clasped behind his back. I stand next to him in my black, knee-length wrap dress and sigh. He puts one arm around my shoulder and I tuck my head to his chest. We stand there in silence. I hold a single, long-stemmed white rose to my chest, almost unwilling to place it on the mahogany coffin waiting to be interred into the earth. Auz gives me a small nudge and I comply with a few steps forward. Gently, I lay the rose on top of the casket and memories flood through my head.
Flashback
I am swinging on the swings in my backyard at age ten. My blue dress billows upwards as I propel my little body higher and higher. I laugh as Auz sits on the swing next to mine and watches me fly. My curly dark ponytail bounces and he smiles at me.
"Auzzie," I giggle. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"What?"
"You know. When you get as old as daddy and mommy are."
"I want to be in the navy. I want to protect my family and my country's waters."
"Like daddy protects us?" I question.
"No, not like he protects us. Like mom protects us."
I stop my swinging. Like all little girls, I hold my father in the highest regard. He's a knight in my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Daddy...well, he.." Auz looks for a way to explain it. "He's not good like mommy is. Mommy will always keep us safe. Mommy and Daddy together make.." Auz again searches for an analogy that will make sense to me. "Well, they're like a rose. A white rose. Mommy is the flower, the petals. She's beautiful and good and pure..and she hides the thorns on her stem. Daddy is a thorn. Virginia...Gin.." I stare at him with heavily lashed eyes. "Just be careful. Always listen to mommy." With those last words he brings me close in a hug.
Flashback
"You were right Auz." I whisper, when back under his wing. "He was a thorn." Auz nods to the man by the grave and he lowers the coffin into the ground. "Goodbye.": I whisper and hug Auz's waist. He kisses the top of my head.
A few minutes later, he is laid to rest and Auz and I are exiting the graveyard. We separate to go to our cars and then reunite on the roadway, driving to the lawyer's office, for the reading of the will. We settle into leather chairs with hard metal studs trailing the armrests and around the back. They are a hunter green color, with a rich chestnut wood. A matching chestnut desk sits in front of us, behind which, sits a surly, partially bald lawyer, holding the will.
"Shall I just go ahead?"
"Yes, please do." Auz replies
"This is the last Will and Testament of Michael Andrew O'Day, amended twice, once after the death of a one Adriana Gisella O'Day, and once again, on the eighteenth birthday of a one Virginia Alessandra O'Day.
Hello Children, If this is being read to you then I have obviously met my demise. I don't want to beat around the bush, so I will make this will short and sweet. Austin, my only son, you have grown into an amazing man. I am proud to be called your father, even if you may not always be proud to call me yours. In my legacy, I bequeath to you the family name, the family honor, my Ferrari GT, and half of my fortune, valued at 75 million dollars. I hope you choose to invest this wisely and also to marry Meghan someday as I see she gives you unearthly happiness. Virginia, my only daughter, you are an enchanting woman and I hope you keep your sparkle all your life. I have done some unforgivable things to you in my life and I am truly sorry for times I have hurt you. You deserve better than I was about to give. To you, I bequeath our house and the other half of my fortune worth 75 million dollars. Please be smart with your money and meet someone who will appreciate you for you and no other reason. Well, children, this is all I have to say. I trust you will live well, stay healthy, and be happy. Goodbye, your father,
Michael O'Day
Well that is the end. I shall give a copy of the will to you Austin and also one to you Virginia. Two bank accounts were opened in your names upon the death of your father. Here are the bank codes, and may I offer my condolences to you and the rest of your family."
We both shake his hand and then walk towards the door. Everything is done with. [To borrow Zuleyka's title] Now, where do we go from here?
It's nine O'clock. I've just driven into the cemetary parking lot. I can see the hearse already here, along with my brother's rental car. I breathe in deeply let out a long slow breath. For a while, I was sad and then very happy. I've been relieved, incredibly angry, both for leaving me and for doing this to himself, but now...now, I've ascended to another level. I don't feel. This whole situation has drained me of emotion and I have no feelings, good or bad, towards this experience. I just want to be done with it and go on with my life. I don't know where I'll go from here, but I just don't want to be HERE any longer.
I watch my step as I quietly and demurely walk the path into the cemetary and towards the coffin. Auz is standing tall with his head tucked to his chest, once again in his dark, officer's uniform. His hands are clasped behind his back. I stand next to him in my black, knee-length wrap dress and sigh. He puts one arm around my shoulder and I tuck my head to his chest. We stand there in silence. I hold a single, long-stemmed white rose to my chest, almost unwilling to place it on the mahogany coffin waiting to be interred into the earth. Auz gives me a small nudge and I comply with a few steps forward. Gently, I lay the rose on top of the casket and memories flood through my head.
Flashback
I am swinging on the swings in my backyard at age ten. My blue dress billows upwards as I propel my little body higher and higher. I laugh as Auz sits on the swing next to mine and watches me fly. My curly dark ponytail bounces and he smiles at me.
"Auzzie," I giggle. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"What?"
"You know. When you get as old as daddy and mommy are."
"I want to be in the navy. I want to protect my family and my country's waters."
"Like daddy protects us?" I question.
"No, not like he protects us. Like mom protects us."
I stop my swinging. Like all little girls, I hold my father in the highest regard. He's a knight in my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Daddy...well, he.." Auz looks for a way to explain it. "He's not good like mommy is. Mommy will always keep us safe. Mommy and Daddy together make.." Auz again searches for an analogy that will make sense to me. "Well, they're like a rose. A white rose. Mommy is the flower, the petals. She's beautiful and good and pure..and she hides the thorns on her stem. Daddy is a thorn. Virginia...Gin.." I stare at him with heavily lashed eyes. "Just be careful. Always listen to mommy." With those last words he brings me close in a hug.
Flashback
"You were right Auz." I whisper, when back under his wing. "He was a thorn." Auz nods to the man by the grave and he lowers the coffin into the ground. "Goodbye.": I whisper and hug Auz's waist. He kisses the top of my head.
A few minutes later, he is laid to rest and Auz and I are exiting the graveyard. We separate to go to our cars and then reunite on the roadway, driving to the lawyer's office, for the reading of the will. We settle into leather chairs with hard metal studs trailing the armrests and around the back. They are a hunter green color, with a rich chestnut wood. A matching chestnut desk sits in front of us, behind which, sits a surly, partially bald lawyer, holding the will.
"Shall I just go ahead?"
"Yes, please do." Auz replies
"This is the last Will and Testament of Michael Andrew O'Day, amended twice, once after the death of a one Adriana Gisella O'Day, and once again, on the eighteenth birthday of a one Virginia Alessandra O'Day.
Hello Children, If this is being read to you then I have obviously met my demise. I don't want to beat around the bush, so I will make this will short and sweet. Austin, my only son, you have grown into an amazing man. I am proud to be called your father, even if you may not always be proud to call me yours. In my legacy, I bequeath to you the family name, the family honor, my Ferrari GT, and half of my fortune, valued at 75 million dollars. I hope you choose to invest this wisely and also to marry Meghan someday as I see she gives you unearthly happiness. Virginia, my only daughter, you are an enchanting woman and I hope you keep your sparkle all your life. I have done some unforgivable things to you in my life and I am truly sorry for times I have hurt you. You deserve better than I was about to give. To you, I bequeath our house and the other half of my fortune worth 75 million dollars. Please be smart with your money and meet someone who will appreciate you for you and no other reason. Well, children, this is all I have to say. I trust you will live well, stay healthy, and be happy. Goodbye, your father,
Michael O'Day
Well that is the end. I shall give a copy of the will to you Austin and also one to you Virginia. Two bank accounts were opened in your names upon the death of your father. Here are the bank codes, and may I offer my condolences to you and the rest of your family."
We both shake his hand and then walk towards the door. Everything is done with. [To borrow Zuleyka's title] Now, where do we go from here?