No Balm for Grief, Chapter 2
By: Hotaru
Notes: Chapter 2! OmG! I hope the funeral seemed alright. The last one I went
to...ugh, the Pastor sucked so much. Smiling away as he talks about my poor,
dead aunt. Bastard. I forgot Kevin. Blame residentevilfan.com (don't hate, Roody,
don't hate). I looked up their character thing, and Kevin wasn't listed in the
Ø or 1 section. But, my apologies. Let's assume had no family and everyone
was too busy grieving to remember him. :p~~
To the reviewers:
Peeping Shadow-Monkey- Thank you! I wasn't sure if it was sad or not..but I guess it was :p I just chose Jill's scenario, I guess cause I played it first. What's better, getting eaten by a shark or a giant snake..?
Kez- Poor Kevin. It's hard to try to figure out what they were like, and such with such little information, but, eh. I did what I could!
Tek- This is what keeps me going! ;_; Awesome. Thanks, it means a lot. *tear* Like I said above, the last funeral I went to sucked. Not that it should be..good and enjoyable but at least...ah hell, I'm babbling. Martha's on!
Panny- You're a jerk for the shyt you wrote on cosplay.com
Project: Freak- More of the Bravo team eh? Hm...not a bad idea. Everyone says how they want to see more of the Bravo team. I forgot Kevin. I can't believe I missed a character but I'm too lazy to edit it. Sigh. I don't know anything about him, though. Hou.
Hunk_Uk-How can you bash Brad when he's dead? That's so heartless. It's kind of weird, cause like...there's the few months difference, but it doesn't seem like that. It seems like RE 0 and 1 happens, then RE 2 and 3. Ah, I don't know. This is what you come up with when you want a change of pace, and can't sleep at night.
I had changed into a loose fitting sweat shirt, jeans, and boots. Quite a change from my funeral suit. I met Chris in my mini-living room and we left together to go to a bar. I hate bars, but I didn't feel like going to some kitchsy diner either.
"What time does the party start?" I asked as we drove around town.
"Uh, I talked to Barry, and he said Linda'd be making dinner as soon as they got back, so like...six-ish." Chris replied.
"She's cooking by herself?"
"Yeah. I don't know if the kids help much."
"They're still pretty young."
Barry had two little girls at home, Polly and Moira. I didn't know which was older, or how old they were even. They probably won't be around the "party" much anyway. When we got to the bar, Chris opened the door to the bar for me, and I walked inside and sat at a table near the window. It was the brightest spot in the whole place. "The Blarney Stone?" I say skeptically, reading the sign above the bar.
"Yeah, a good old Irish pub." Chris replied as a waitress walked over to us.
"What can I get ya?" She asked.
"Ah...I'll have a...shot or two of scotch." Chris said, suprising me.
"And for you ma'me?"
"Some amaretto I guess." It was the only alcohol I drank, and it still burned my throat on the way down. "Do they have Irish lagers or anything?" I asked Chris.
"I don't know. Maybe, but it's probably expensive for some ridiculous reason. You figure..it's an Irish pub, they should have Irish beer as the..main beer."
"Are you Irish at all?"
"Don't think so. Maybe..you?"
I nodded. "My dad was three-quarters or something. It's confusing." I reply. "So, who's going to Barry's?"
"I think Claire said she'd go, and she's gonna bring Leon along...Rebecca's probably going.." He stared, counting off on his fingers.
"Carlos should be too. Even though he didn't know anyone he said he'd try to make it." Chris made a face. It was brief, gone in an instant but I saw it. I think he was jealous. But he didn't have to be. They both saved me and I loved them both the same.
"I doubt Forest's girlfriend'll be there, she could hardly talk..Joseph's brother should be coming, along with Kenneth's wife. Um.."
"Here you go." The waitress returned. Two shots of Scotch for Chris, two shots of amaretto for me. He picked up a glass.
"To our fallen comrades." He toasted. I lifted my glass, clinked it with his and downed the smooth, amber liquid.
"Ahh.." I sighed, squeezing my eyes. Chris chuckled at me. "I don't drink much, if you couldn't tell."
--*--
After a few drinks at the bar, Chris dropped me off at my place so I could get ready for the funeral party. I didn't want to wear the same suit so I rummaged through my closet. I didn't have many dress clothes in black. There was a spaghetti strap black number that was a bit inappropriate for the occassion. I had a sweater I could put over it, though, so I put that on. There were bags forming under my eyes so I applied some makeup to cover it up. It didn't seem like I was drunk or anything, and I wasn't. Though I might be by the end of the night...
Chris showed up at around a quarter to six. He had changed from his tux into a dark blue dress shirt, tie, and black slacks. "You clean up well." I remarked, as I climbed into his car.
"You look nice too." He complimented. "I wasn't sure what to wear. I figured dark colors would be most appropriate."
"Yeah, that was my thinking too. God, I wish it would stop raining." I said, looking up at the sky as he headed off to the Burton house.
"Better than snow." He noted. "No shoveling, just wet socks." I smiled and turned on the radio to distract my mind.
"Destiny grabs me, 'Here' is becoming blurred but don't you despair, you can hear it. That place is calling. Entangled in the dry wind, it takes you away with it. Honey, so sweet grasping at my boundless dreams with both hands. I want to fly, waitin' for sunrise--" The radio sang.*
"Now that I think about it, we should have arrived early to help Linda out." I said half to myself.
"Barry would have called if they needed anything. Don't worry about it."
There was no more talking until we got to Barry's house. It seemed that we were the first to arrive. Linda was still in the kitchen, so I went to help her out. Her two young daughters were in there, running about probably annoying the hell out of her. "Hey Lin, need a hand?" I greeted.
"Jill! You suprised me!" She said, pulling me into a quick hug. "Um...sure, keep stirring this, while I check the stuff in the oven." She said, handing me a wooden spoon.
"Gravy?" I asked, looking in the pot.
"Yep. Secret recipe that Barry adores. You should have seen him when I said I'd be making it for the turkey." She chuckled a bit.
"I wish I had offered to help you, I didn't realize you'd be doing the cooking by yourself."
"Oh, don't worry about it--Polly, please watch out." Her daughter ran past her legs and out of the kitchen. "Moira, please occupy your sister until Mommy's done."
"Okay!" The little girl replied, scurrying away.
"The gravy's a bit tricky. It'll burn to the bottom so every so often, just scrape at the pot with the spoon." Linda instructed me. Nodding, I turned to see where Chris was. He was still talking to Barry in the livingroom.
"How many people are you expecting?" I asked.
"Oh..let's see...counting Barry and me, eleven or so. I hope the turkey's enough to feed everyone. I considered just buying one of those six foot long heros or something.."
"I'm sure that everyone will be happier having a good homecooked meal. I haven't really felt like cooking anything, so this is a big treat to me."
"Well good. A girl needs good food."
Chris and Barry entered the kitchen. "Hey ladies." Barry greeted,
smiling at me. I hadn't forgiven him for betraying me, but I didn't let him
on about that fact. I smiled back. "How's it goin'?" I asked.
"Alright, I guess. The others should be getting here pretty soon." Barry replied, glancing at his watch.
"Did you put the soda and wine in the coolers like I asked?" Linda questioned.
"Oh, damn. I forgot, I'll do it right now." Barry answered sheepishly.
"What can I do?" Chris asked, putting his hands on his hips.
"If you could, take over stirring for Jill, and she can help me set the tables."
I handed the spoon to Chris and snickered. "Don't get any on your shirt." I warned, before grabbing a pile of dishes and following Linda into the dining room.
"Now, we can seat eight here, that leaves four people to eat in the living room." Linda said, biting her finger nails.
"..I'm sure Chris wouldn't mind eating in there with me. His sister and her friend probably won't mind either. I'd hate to not be hospitable to everyone else. We know each other better than they do." I said.
"Ah, good idea! We can always rotate once we're done eating so everyone can talk." She went back into the kitchen to get the silverware. /She's like an everyday Martha Stewart./
--*--
It was about an hour into the party, and everyone was finishing up their dinner. Barry had gotten seconds of turkey and poured the gravy on thick. "You should probably put it in a jar so I can have it more often." He told his wife, winking.
"Gravy isn't exactly healthy, Bar. You aren't in top shape, so no more gravy." Linda retorted, patting his pot belly.
"I'm working on it, Linda!"
Claire indeed brought her friend Leon along. I met him once or twice, and all I knew about him was that he helped Claire out of Raccoon City. He seemed nice, but timid, especially around Chris. "I wonder if the kids are sleeping or what." Chris mumbled, not exactly enjoying himself.
"With all this talking? Please. They're probably having a tea party or something." Claire replied.
"I hate tea." I added, hopefully to keep the conversation going.
"Tea's good for you." Leon said, finally speaking up.
"I know, but...the taste just isn't...I don't know."
"The food was good, wasn't it?" Claire said, the silence was getting to her too.
"Yeah, Linda sure is a great cook." Leon added.
"I haven't had a meal like that since..." Chris began. "Before Mom and Dad died." Claire finished.
"I haven't cooked anything in awhile. Except like...soup. I'm getting sick of it though." I contributed.
"I hope you haven't filled up too much! I've got apple and pumpkin pie for dessert!" Linda called cheerfully.
"Yay, pumpkin pie!" Claire exclaimed. Chris's eyes flashed over to her. Leon was chuckled slightly. "What?" Claire asked, seeing Chris staring.
"I thought you hated pumpkin pie." He said.
"I used to but once you're deprived of things, they start to grow on you." Claire answered, sticking her nose into the air.
"She's been dieting." Leon whispered. Chris's brow twitched. Uh-oh.
"Why are you dieting? You don't need to lose any weight." He said lightly.
"It's more to adjust my eating habits, Christopher. Relax."
"Why don't I get us something to drink. Chaperone me, Chris." I stood up, and extended my elbow so he'd come along.
He was kind of pissed off. "Chris, what's the problem?" I asked as we looked over their selection of alcohol.
"I don't like that Leon. He's a little too comfortable with Claire." He replied, glancing into the living room where they were laughing together.
"Are they dating?"
"No, not that I know of. She's never really had a real boyfriend before. She doesn't know how to handle it."
"I don't think there's anything to be afraid of Chris. They're friends. They might be flirting a little, but you and I flirt all the time and nothing's happened, right?" He nodded and poured some wine into four cups.
"We're going to have a toast." Barry said, appearing behind us. "Just come into the dining room for a little bit, okay?" We both nodded and brought the drinks to Claire and Leon.
"Ladies and Gentlemen...friends..." Barry began, his loud voice reaching everyone's ears. "We're here to give one final farewell to seven of our comrades. I'd like to lift our glasses now, and we can all say a little something. Then we can get drunk with no worries." There were a few chuckles. "I guess I'll start. I lost some good men...some great men. Life won't be the same without 'em." He said, tilting his head back and taking a gulp of wine.
"I'll go." I was suprised that Carlos finally spoke up. He had snuck in before and was talking to Rebecca the entire time. "I didn't have the fortune to know any of these guys, but from what I hear, they were excellent people. And I'll drink to their memory." He said, winking and downing his cup of wine.
"To my captain." Rebecca added, raising her glass.
"To my brother." The elder Frost brother continued.
"To my husband." Cecelia said.
"To my hero." I said, finally.
"To Chickenheart." Chris said, getting a few chuckles.
"To our friends."
There was some clinking of glasses before everyone drank their wine. I went back to the living room with Chris, away from the noise. Carlos and Rebecca followed us to talk with Claire and Leon. "None of you have really met, so let me introduce you all." Chris said. Claire and Leon stood up. "Rebecca and...Carlos, right? This is my sister Claire." The two shook hands with her politely. "And this is Leon, we met in Raccoon City." Claire said. More hand shaking.
"Oh, and this is Carlos, we met in Raccoon, too." I said. Carlos shook no hands but he did tip a imaginary hat.
"Good, now we're all introduced. So, I hope I'm not crashing the party or anything." Carlos said, sitting on the arm of the couch.
"If you can even call it that.." Rebecca added solemnly.
"Don't worry about no one knowing you." I said, leaning back into the couch. "A lot of people are meeting for the first time any way."
"Oh, okay. It just seemed like everyone knew each other...or at least they knew the guys that died."
"Oh, Carlos." I said, remembering a thought. "It turns out that Claire and Leon were in Raccoon City about the same time we were."
"No kidding?! I'm suprised we ddn't run into each other, then." Carlos said with a laugh.
"We might have accidentally shot you if we did. Hell, I almost shot Claire when I first got to the city." Leon said, and I could feel Chris glaring at him with a 'You almost shot my sister?!' look on his face. Claire must have noticed so she laughed lightly.
"Yeah, I just scared him is all. I pulled open a door when I was being chased by a zombie, and I thought he was aiming at me. I guess his cop intuition was helpful." She added quickly.
"Chris and I never actually were in the city. Just in the outskirts, right, Chris?" Rebecca piped in.
"Ah, yeah. That stupid mansion...that place was dreadful. Covered with dust, and crawling with zombies and unopenable doors. It was a nightmare." Chris answered from beside me.
"I'll drink to that." Carlos jeered, finishing off his wine.
"At least it's over, right?" Claire said with a slight smile.
"Not without severe losses on our side." I frowned. Why did I always have to turn the conversation downhill?
Joseph's brother entered the room with a cup in one hand and a plate with some pie in the other. "Hey, this is where you're all hiding out. Linda's put out the dessert if ya'll want some." He said, gesturing to the dining room.
"Sure, I'll have some." Claire said, standing up from the love seat.
"I'll give ya a hand." Leon offered.
"You want some, Jill?" Chris questioned. I nodded, and he went into the other room. Joseph's brother sat across from me and smiled slightly. I couldn't remember his name for the life of me.
"That poem you read today was really nice." He complimented. /I wish I had wrote something original. Everyone's complimenting my plaguirism./
"Thanks. It's not mine, but...I thought it would be an appropriate way to express my emotions." I answered monotonously. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember your name. Joey talked about you all the time, but he always referred to you as 'my bro' or something." He laughed and nodded.
"That's just like him...or it was. It's Raian." He answered.
"Oh, that's right. Yeah, he called you Rai too." He nodded again and took a bite of his pie. "So what's going on in there?" I asked, jerking my thumb towards the dining room.
"Ah, Linda made some coffee to help sober us up. Just...reminiscing I guess."
"I feel bad that Richard's family didn't come." I said sadly.
"His sister was real upset. They probably are having their own services with their family, and none of us really know them anyway." Raian replied.
"Yeah. I think she's mad at me. She said at the funeral that she didn't blame me, but I can't help but feel like she does."
"That's natural. You'll get over it. Once, when me and Joey were little, we were running from something I think..and we hoped over a fence, and part of my shorts got caught on the top, and he pulled me down and it tore my knee open." I hissed, imagining what that would have felt like. "Yeah, and he started crying and he carried me home, even though it would have been faster if I walked. There was a huge circle of blood on his shirt. Our mom was hysterical."
"How long did he feel guilty?" I asked.
"Until after the stitches were taken out. He gave me his allowance, and bought me ice cream and stuff so I wouldn't get mad at him. But, what I'm trying to say is...you'll get over it Jill. This is a bit more extreme, but you'll grow to realize that things happen for a reason. Not to sound preachy but maybe there's more you have to do here, you know?"
I nodded silently, and the others returned with the pie. Chris handed me a big slice of pumpkin pie topped with a glob of whipped cream. "Looks great." I commented, picking up the fork. I felt bad knowing that Raian's brother died in the forest, before facing anything really...dangerous. I mean, the cerebrus were killers, no doubt, but...I won't ever tell Raian exactly how his brother died. It would pain him to know the truth, I think.
Chris and I stayed at the party until around ten. He wasn't really drunk, but I offered to drive at least myself home. Not that I didn't trust him, he just needed a little nap. "Thanks for the rides today, Chris." I said, when I got to my apartment.
"Ah, no problem. Anytime. My wheels are your wheels." He replied, climbing over to the driver's seat.
"Good. I plan on running away to Mexico, and it'd be a lot easier with your car." I smiled. He smiled back.
"Night, Jill."
"Night."
*Final Notes: There I go, translation J-Pop lyrics and using them. Hehe. That one was Honey from L'arc~en~ciel. I tried to find the translation for Anemone but found nothing but crap and fanfiction. @_@ I'm listening to Honey now. Makes me think of bees. Honey so sweet! Raian=Ryan. Go odd spelling! I found the translation for Anemone:
Surrounded by the kindness of the dear people,
I take off towards you.
With those shining memories engraved in my heart,
the wind pushes me to the road which continues to the port.
Tell me that wouldn't be appropriate! ò_ó Anyway, listen to Honey:
http://www.songjapan.com/listen.php?id=760
