Chapter 10

Monday was the day of the funeral. I hadn't been to school since I found out about my parents. People had called; flowers were delivered; thinking that they would fill the void that my parents had left. If there was a night that I wasn't busy, I would sit alone in my parent's room, on their bed, and just think. Lucas made sure that most nights I was out of the house because he knew how lonely I was when I was home by myself.

The house was filled with an array of flowers and smelled like a greenhouse. Friends of my parents from all across the globe sent their regards to my family, which consisted of only myself. Before the funeral, I prayed that people would show up so that I wouldn't feel like no one cared about my parents.

Lucas came with me to the visitation. He stood at the front of the funeral home with me. Without him, I would not have been able to get through it. When I started to feel weak again, Lucas could tell. He would put his arm around my waist to keep me from falling to pieces. Every once I a while, I would look into his eyes. He could tell what I was saying just by looking at me. The fact that he could almost read my mind made me wonder if Lucas was possibly the man I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life; if he was my soul mate.

When visitation was over, Lucas took me back home. Rosa had made dinner. She had not eaten yet so she ate with us. We had roasted chicken breast with rice and a side salad. I hadn't eaten a full meal in days. It tasted so good it was almost like I had never had a meal in my life.

After dinner, Lucas and I went to the backyard. We had both changed clothes. I was dressed in my pajamas and he had on a pair of basketball shorts and a Jordan shirt. Neither of us wore shoes. We sat at the edge of the pool with our feet dangling into the water. I laid back and looked up into the dark sky. It wasn't black; it was navy almost like the ocean at night and the stars were the few boats still out searching for their harbor.

Lucas' arm found its way around my waist as we lay together on the grass. I curled up next to him. My head rested on his chest. I could hear his heart beating evenly. He bent his knees until they were out of the water. One of his hands was behind his head while the other remained around my waist. I relaxed both my hands onto his abdomen. My ship had found its harbor. I had found what I needed. With him was where I needed to be right now.

Waking up Saturday morning in Lucas' arms was like a dream. I had only dreamt of something like this. Everytime I had woken up with a guy in the past was after a one night stand. This was different, everything was different now. I felt like if my parents were here they would have been proud of me.

My parents were around very much growing up. They loved to travel and being well off as we were, gave them the chance to travel as much as the wished. They were never home for my birthdays, but by the time birthdays mattered I didn't really mind. I had become accustomed to it. It would have been odder if they were there for my birthday. They didn't know anything about me. I am sure they had to have an idea of my partying habits considering the times they were home; they saw my pissy drunk throwing up in every bathroom in the house.

Everyone thought the only reason I drank and did the things I did was to get my parents attention. I guess that is maybe why I started, but that was not why I continued. I don't really have one steady reason as to why I was always the way I was. I just did what I knew. My parents drank and partied, so I figured I would to. You do what you are used to and I just happened to be used to partying.

But back to my parents, I think that if they could see me now and the way that I was with Lucas, that they would be happy for me. I think that they would be relieved that everything turned out all right for me. They had to think that I was going to end up in some dark alley downtown with the ladies of the night. I lived to prove them wrong and I surely did.

For the first time in my whole life I felt happiness. Sincere happiness. A type of happiness that everyone is supposed to experience in their lives. Lucas was that for me. I sat up and stared at him. He was still asleep. Unaware if he was about to wake up or if he was going to continue sleeping, I headed into the kitchen. Rosa was sitting in the kitchen at the table reading the front page of the newspaper. She looked up over her paper and at me. I watched a smile creep across her face, "Senorita Brooke, is that a smile?" She asked me taking a sip of coffee from her mug. "I have never seen your face do that before," She said, pointing to her own mouth, "See right here, where it curves up."

I smiled at her and looked out the large windows. Lucas had woken up. He was starting to walk toward the house. Rosa watched me stare at Lucas and she spoke, pointing his direction, "He, I like him." She said standing up and walking toward me. She put her hand on my back and said, "He is that curve in your smile."

He opened the door and walked into the kitchen. I handed him a cup of coffee, which he accepted. He took a drink from it and tossed two sugar cubes into it. I felt my mouth start to do what Rosa was commenting on. The corners of my mouth began to curve. Lucas kissed me on the forhead and Rosa looked into the kitchen from the formal dining room. "That's it." She said pointing to both of us. We were both smiling from ear to ear. Rosa turned to leave the room. As she walked out, I heard her say, "Ay aya, Senorita Brooke not at mad as I always thought she was."