When Sophie woke up that morning, for a minute she forgot where she was. Then she remembered she was in a hotel on her way to her sister's funeral. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, and noticed the girls had already gotten up and ready. They were sitting on the cot, which was by the window, talking quietly. The stopped when they noticed her get up. Sophie silently went into the bathroom and took a shower. When she was done the girls were sitting quietly on the other bed. Sophie sat on her own bed and looked around the room.
"We packed the car and had breakfast already. They stop serving breakfast in 30 minsutes," Juliette said, breaking the silence. She and Shelby sat down on either side of Sophie.
"How are you feeling? Will you be okay to drive?" Shelby asked.
Sophie nodded. She wanted to call Peter, but she was afraid just the sound of his voice would make her cry, and she was determined not to let the girls see her cry. She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm going to get some breakfast. Will you girls take my bag to the car, and make sure you have everything, please?"
"Sure," Juliette said. She picked up Sophie's bag and Shelby looked under the beds and in the bathroom. Then they all took the bag to the car then joined Sophie in the lobby while she ate.
An hour later they were on the road again, and again the ride was silent. Sophie had way underestimated the time it would take to get there, and they ended up arriving at 10. They checked into the hotel then went downstairs to look around.
"I can never get over how cool Embassy Suites are," Juliette said as they watched the fish and swans.
"I never knew a hotel had fish, let alone swans. This place seems like something out of a movie," Jet marveled.
"Come on, girls. I'm tired," Sophie said, heading for the room.
"Okay, so we're here for 3 nights. That way we can each have our own bed one night, if we want to work it that way," Shelby said.
"That would work," Jet agreed.
"So how about I have the bed tonight, the Jet, then Jules."
"Whatever. I just want to go to bed. I'm tired," Juliette said, climbing into bed.
"Night, girls," Sophie said, sticking her head in the room.
"Night Sophie," Juliette mumbled, half asleep. Shelby and Jet laughed as they got in bed.
Jet pulled a book out of her bag and started to read. "Do y'all mind if I read for a little bit?"
"No. The light doesn't bother me. Looks like Jules is already out."
"Okay. Night."
The next morning they all slept in, a luxury they didn't have at Horizon. Sophie got them up at ten.
"You guys slept through their breakfast, so you'll have to wait till we go to lunch."
"Thats okay, I'm not that hungry," Juliette said. When Sophie looked at her, alarmed, she added, "Besides, we're going to eat in like two hours, and if I eat now I won't be hungry then." Jet and Shelby glanced at each other, smiling. But, Juliette did have a point.
After lunch they went back to the hotel. They knew something was up because Sophie got them to sit down on one of the beds.
"Um, girls, I'd like to go see the body today. You guys normally would have to go with me, but I'm not going to force you to go see a...a body. I can't leave you here, you'd have to wait in the car, but I'd really appriciate it if you could come with me. You don't-" Sophie said.
"Of course we'll go with you," Shelby said, cutting her off.
"Yeah. We didn't come with you just to get out of school, we came to support you," Juliette said. Tears stung Sophie's eyes and Juliette sat next to her and gave her a hug.
Sophie tried to smile. "Thanks you guys...I'm going to walk around, can I trust you to stay here?" The girls nodded. "Alright, then. I'll be back in about 20 minutes." Sophie went out into the lobby of the hotel and watched people go by, but not really seeing them.
Back in the room Shelby got the newspaper and looked for the obituary section. When she found it she went back into their room and sat on her bed.
"Jordana Alexis Becker, 22, died Sunday morning from cancer. Jordana had been battling cancer for the past four years and she went into remission two years ago. Ten months ago the cancer came back full force and it ended her life. Jordana loved all animals and children and often helped at shelters and in the children's wing, even when she was sick. She is a graduate of TCU and a member of the ADPi sorority. She is preceeded in death by her father, Anthony Becker, and his parents, Jordana and Jack Becker. She is survived by her mother, Louisa Andrews Becker, her grandparents Kayla and Mitch Andrews, sister Sophie Julianna Becker, 'big' Andrea Kathleen Ortiz and 'little' Susannah Martin Graham, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Body viewing will be at Carter Funeral Home Monday and Tuesday and the funeral will be at Christ Methodist Church Wednesday at 1pm." Shelby finished, looking up.
"Wow," Juliette said softly. "Poor Sophie."
"It always seems to sink in more when you read an obituary. You know, kinda like its final," Jet said, the others nodded.
"Maybe thats why Sophie hasn't read it yet. She doesn't want to accept it," Shelby said.
"How do you know?" Juliette asked.
"Because the paper hadn't been touched. I mean, she probably just put it on the table when she left." Shelby folded the section back and put it with the rest of the paper. A few minutes later, Sophie came back.
"You guys ready to go?" she asked, not really looking at them. They nodded and followed her to the car.
It took them nearly an hour to get to the funeral home. Sophie was paranoid that her mother would be there. She worried about that the whole drive and was relieved to see only three cars in the parking lot, none of them her mother's. Shelby and Jet jumped out of the car, Juliette got out a little slower; she was a little apprehensive about seeing a dead body.
"Hello ladies, how can I help you?" a short, friendly man said as they walked in.
"Umm I'm Sophie Becker. They're my students. We're here to see my sister, Jordana Becker."
The man smiled. "Of course, please follow me." He led them down a small, dimly lit hall. "My name is Connor, by the way. Your sister is in that room, Miss Becker. Take your time, she's not being moved until tomorrow morning." With that he turned and left, his footsteps echoing in the hall.
For a minute, Sophie just stood in front of the door, her hand on the handle. The girls waited patiently behind her.
"Do you want us to go in with you?" Jet asked.
Sophie nodded. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The room was just a bit brighter than the hall. The sun was blocked out by heavy drapes. The coffin was in the far corner of the small room. A small, old, wooden couch was by the door and a few chairs were in the corner behind the door. Sophie walked in slowly. Juliette and Jet sat on the couch and Shelby brought one of the chairs over next to them. Silently they watched Sophie.
As Sophie made her way to the coffin, everything around her faded. She felt like she was in one of those movies where the room goes completely black and the bright spotlight shines on whats happening. When she reached the casket, she sucked in her breath. She couldn't believe the girl in front of her was her sister. Even through all the makeup she was pale. Sophie touched her sister's face, and it was cold. She felt a horrible sinking in her stomach.
"Oh, Jori, I'm so sorry. I wish I was there for you more. I should have come back home when your cancer came back. I loved you so much and I didn't show it," Sophie said, her voice catching in her throat.
"Should we leave?" Juliette whispered. The other shook their heads.
"How am I going to deal with mom with you gone? You could always calm her down...God Jori, I miss you so much already!" Sophie choked out. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at the lifeless body of her sister. Her body started to shake as she tried to suppress her sobs. She leaned on the closed section of the coffin, trying to get herself under control. Then she felt hands on her shoulders. It was Shelby and Jet. They led her away from the coffin and to the couch. Juliette moved to the chair, Shelby brought over another chair and sat in front of the couch, and Sophie and Jet sat on the couch. Meanwhile Sophie tried to get herself under control.
"Sophie, you haven't cried yet. Why?" Juliette asked, putting her hand on Sophie's shoulder.
"I - I can't," Sophie mumbled.
"Why not?"
"Because I have to be strong. For you guys."
"Sophie, you only have to be strong for us at school. Not now. Thats why we're here," Jet said.
The girls watched as Jet's words sunk in. Sophie's eyes started to water, then her lip trembled. It still seemed as if she were still trying not to cry. Shelby reached over and took one of Sophie's hands. She looked over at her sister's coffin and it hit her. Tears fell rapidly down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands and rocked back and forth. They tried to comfort her; Juliette stroked her hair, Jet rubbed her back, Shelby held her hands. For awhile they just let her cry. When she was done, she sat, staring straight ahead for a few minutes. "Does it look like I've been crying?"
"Yeah. But thats okay," Juliette said.
"Okay, lets go," Sophie said, not wanting to hang around any longer. "Thanks," she said to Connor, not stopping to talk with him.
"Okay you guys. I can trust you. You can do whatever you want the rest of the day, just stay in the hotel and out of trouble." They had just gotten back to the hotel.
The girls went to change into their bathing suits. As they headed out the door, Sophie stopped them. "Uh, you guys...Thanks."
Juliette went over to her and gave her a hug. "You don't need to thank us." And they left to swim, leaving Sophie alone with her thoughts.