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Chapter 12: Aftermath
Piper sat in the first row, Ming-na's hand tightly grasping hers. As the priest beside the casket droned on in Chinese, Piper thought back to when she told Ming-na her only son was dead. Ming-na had collapsed on the porch, crying. Piper held her and comforted her. Relatives tried to console Ming-na, but she clung to Piper, the only other one who truly knew her son. In that moment she rejected her family and clung to Piper, Ming-na broke the ethnic barrier. Piper was now part of the family.
On Piper's other side sat Sarah. Sarah, her best friend, Sarah, her rock of sanity. Sarah was there to comfort and console her, almost as if she felt Piper's pain.
The ceremony was ending and people were being asked to make a last pass by the coffin before it was lowered into the ground. Piper let tears begin running down her face. She walked passed the coffin, but she could barely see it through her tears. In there lay Mark, but it was not the man she knew. The man she knew would always be in her heart, in her memories.
Piper laid the flower she had been holding onto the top of the casket. I love you, Mark, she silently said.
It began to rain.
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Ming-na unlocked Mark's apartment door and Piper followed her in. It had been four days since the funeral, and although the landlord was nice, he said the apartment needed to be cleared out soon. As much as Piper knew it had to be done, she dreaded it.
Ming-na seemed to dread it too. She was pale and quiet.
They seemed to come to an unspoken agreement. They began clearing out the kitchen and living room respectively. After certain things were packed and some things were to be dealt with later, Piper stood at the doorway of Mark's bedroom, afraid to enter.
Ming-na stood next to Piper. "I will clean the bathroom. You need to do this room," she said, indicating the bedroom.
"I'm scared," she whispered, and Ming-na put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Piper mustered up her courage and stepped into the room she and Mark had so often shared. There was the bed they shared and a shiver went up her spine. They never would again. "Mark is dead," pier whispered out loud.
Piper sat on the edge of the bed, tightly gripping the edge tightly, biting her bottom lip, trying not to cry. It was no use, the tears began to flow. In all the days since learning Mark was dead, Piper had been in a state of denial. Now that she had, Piper felt as if they were true. It was almost too much to bear. She finally was able to calm herself down and focus on the task at hand.
Deciding the best way to tackle this room would be a methodical method, Piper decided to pack his clothes first. She grabbed a box and took it over to one of the dresser drawers. She opened the drawer and immediately closed it. She couldn't do this. Why was she kidding herself?
She stood up and was about to leave the room when she heard Ming-na's soft weeping from the bathroom. Piper stopped and faced the dresser. She was the only one who could do this. She had to be strong. Strong for herself, Strong for Ming-na.
Piper sat down in front of the dresser again, still unable to open it. Okay, She told herself, if you close your eyes and don't look, it won't hurt.
Piper closed her eyes and quickly opened the drawer. He grabbed a pile of shirts, shoving them in the box. Even though her eyes were closed, tears drifted down her face. She didn't open her eyes until she closed the drawer. She took a breath and emptied the next drawer.
Just as she was finishing the third drawer, shoving the last pile of shirts into a box, something fell and made a soft thud sound. She looked down to see a little black box lying on the floor. Curious, she opened the box.
Cushioned inside the box sat a ring. It had a gold band and a diamond in the center, surround by two smaller ones. She leaned against the bed on the floor and stared at the ring.
That was how Ming-na found her, sitting on the floor, staring at the ring. Ming-na bent down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Piper looked at her, question in her eyes.
"The night that… the night that Mark died, he was going to ask you to marry him."
Piper could barely see anything through the tears that ran down her face. She examined the ring and put it on. A perfect fit.
Piper was suddenly caught by a wave of nausea. She didn't know what caused it, fear of being alone without Mark, sadness, or a mixture of the two. Whatever it was, it made her sick.
"Excuse me," she said and ran to the bathroom.
She leaned over the toilet and vomited.
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Author's Note: Please review and let me know what you think. I was going to make Piper pregnant, but decided against it. It's finally here! Leo's first chapter! Please let me know how you think the story is going.
I've updated to chapter 15. Since I have finals this week, I;m not sure how soon I'll be able to post. Please review after every chapter so I know your opinion about each. Thank you!