CHAPTER 3: ASHES TO ASHES & PROPOSALS

Sparkyville, USA 9:50 AM, Location: St. Martins Crematorium

The funeral of Lucille Van Pelt

Inside St. Martins Crematorium, a large box containing Lucy's remains sat on a conveyor belt in front of a rather large oven. The Van Pelts couldn't even afford a casket for their daughter because by this time they were living paycheck to paycheck. Lucy had bankrupt them with her lavish spending at fine dining restaurants and fast food joints. They provided her with so much money they barely had enough left for them. It was no wonder Larry harbored resentment toward Lacey, his wife. And Linus and Rerun were livid at their mother for her lack of concern over them and putting them at risk due to her negligence in handling Lucy's situation. So now Lucy's body sat in a large, taped-up cardboard box, waiting to be cremated. And it was a miracle that the crematorium was able to find a box large enough to hold her 550-pound frame.

As everyone began to walk in, the Van Pelts were first. Charlie and Violet, along with Sally, Schroeder, and the Browns, Maureen and Silas, followed. Then Tricia and Roy came in, along with Franklin and Marcie. Patty and Mark then walked in and took their seats. They left the twins with Mark's parents, who didn't know the Van Pelts that well to come. Frieda and Pig Pen walked in together holding hands which caused raised eyebrows from their friends, but they shrugged it off soon afterwards. Eudora, Sally's best friend who had just arrived the night before, was next to enter. Shermy and his wife also came in behind Eudora. When everyone greeted each other and took their seats, everyone was surprised to see Linus, Audrey, and Rerun come in. Lacey tried to hug her sons when she saw them but was stopped by Linus. She was confused.

"We didn't come here for you," said Linus. "We came to pay our respects to our sister. As for you, mother, we need to have a serious talk, but AFTER the funeral." Lacey took her seat, reluctantly. Rerun didn't say a word; he just glared at his mother with disdain. After greeting their father Larry, Linus and Rerun, along with Audrey, took their seats. Lacey had no idea about the conversation Larry had with their sons a few nights before.

Linus sat next to Charlie. Charlie said, "I'm glad you did come, Linus."

"I am too, Charlie," agreed Linus. "I'll fill you in on what made me come later. And it will change your opinion of Lucy." Charlie looked at his best friend and wondered about the change in attitude. He figured there will be an explanation later.

During the funeral, the minister officiating it asked if anyone wanted to say something about Lucy. No one stood up or volunteered, until Linus, to the shock of everyone, stood up and said, "I do have something to say." Lacey braced herself for what he was going to say, as she thought it couldn't be good. Linus walked up to the podium and cleared his throat.

He began, "For years, many of you know that I harbored a lot of animosity towards my sister. And a lot of you knew the abuse, mentally, emotionally, and physically, Rerun and I had endured from her. And for years after I became an adult, I avoided her at all costs, never gave her my phone number, or told her where I lived because I didn't want to deal with her. She was crazy, psychotic, and just plain mean. And a lot of you knew about Rerun's struggles with drugs because of the trauma of living with someone like Lucy. And for years, we hated her and we wanted nothing to do with her.

"But then some new revelations came to light earlier this week. We learned that Lucy's actions were not entirely her fault; that it was a case of not getting the help or treatment she needed to be a decent member of society. Lucy, as it turns out, suffered, as well. She may have been delivering punishment towards us, but she couldn't help it. I'm not making any excuses for her; I'm just stating facts. Years ago, when we were still kids and before Rerun was born, she was diagnosed as being bipolar. But that was the least of the issues she had. She was also diagnosed as being a borderline sociopath, narcissistic, and suffering from delusions. She was smart, but also mentally flawed. She actually believed her own hype well into adulthood, which is why she failed out of college when she went to become a psychiatrist. And it wasn't entirely all her fault because she was denied the treatment and counseling that could have corrected her behavioral problems. And as such, she always thought her crabbiness was normal, so she wore it as a badge of honor; thinking it was normal to be crabby every single day, and everyone else was flawed in her mind. The only sign of her softness came out in a certain guy who is here, but will remain nameless, though he and most of you know who I'm talking about. This guy she had a crush on from childhood all the way to adulthood. And maybe if she had said treatment, he would have given her the time of day; maybe not, but we'll never know now.

"So, in closing, I do want to say to Lucy, I don't know if she can hear me wherever she is now, but I do forgive her for what she has done to me. Rerun has forgiven her, as well. Now knowing what we know now, it is easier to justify her actions. I still hate that I had to endure that when I didn't have to, but now I can see why it happened and why she acted that way, as she couldn't help herself. And now, Lucy, I hope in death you can have the peace and sound of mind you couldn't get in life. And I do love you, sis. Thank you."

After Linus had spoken, there was hardly a dry eye in the crematorium. Everyone now knew that Lucy wasn't mean and crabby just for the sake of being mean and crabby; she had serious problems that could have been fixed, but didn't. Lacey, the mother, glared at her husband, Larry, as she knew he was the one who told their sons about Lucy's mental problems. Then, everyone applauded Linus for his speech. When Linus returned to his seat, Charlie said to him, "I forgive Lucy, as well." And the best friends hugged each other.

The minister stepped back up and after saying a few words he announced that it was time to cremate Lucy and for everyone, except for the family, to exit the building. And after everyone had left, the cremation process begun. Linus and Rerun didn't say anything. Larry also remained silent. Audrey was also silent. Lacey fidgeted around a bit because she couldn't wait to tell Larry off about divulging what was between them. They all went into another room to wait to receive her ashes. After about an hour or so, one of the staff member handed Lacey the ashes of her daughter in a box.

"We do have urns for you if you want to place the ashes in there," the staff member told her.

"Thank you," said Lacey. "Let's go." And the family got up and left the crematorium to head for the reception that was held at the union building where the gang had their reunion a few nights before.

At the union building, after the minister blessed the food, everyone got up and went to get some food to eat. Lucy's ashes, now in a ceramic urn painted blue, her favorite color, sat in a corner for all to see. Linus, Audrey, and Rerun sat with Charlie, Violet, Sally, Schroeder, and the Browns, instead of their parents. While all was forgiven between Larry and the boys, not so much with their mother Lacey. Plus they wanted to leave their dad alone to give their mother the news he wanted to tell her.

"YOU'RE SUING ME FOR DIVORCE, LARRY?!" Everyone got silent when they heard that. Lacey was standing over Larry, holding the papers Larry had received from George, the attorney. "WE JUST HAD A FUNERAL FOR OUR DAUGHTER, FOR CHRISTS SAKE! COULDN'Y YOU AT LEAST WAITED UNTIL AFTER THE RECEPTION TO HAND ME THIS?!"

"NO, LACEY!" shouted Larry. "IT'S TIME TO TAKE OFF THE FAÇADE! DON'T YOU SEE?! OUR BOYS DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE AROUND YOU! AND YES, I WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD THEM ABOUT LUCY'S MENTAL ISSUES AND YOU NOT WANTING TO FIX IT! BUT ME DIVORCING YOU ISN'T THE ONLY NEWS IWANTED TO GIVE YOU! I HAD ALREADY PACKED UP MY BELONGINGS BEFORE WE LEFT FOR THE CREMATORIUM."

"Wait, what?" said a confused Lacey.

"Yes," said Larry, calming down a little. "I have packed up my belongings, my clothes and some of the smaller stuff I want to take with me. I am going back to Boston with my boys."

"IS THIS TRUE?!" Lacey asked Linus loudly.

"Yes it is, mother!" Linus retorted. "Don't you get it?! You caused all of this. Had you have given Lucy the proper treatment, all of us wouldn't be here. Lucy would be alive and probably a decent human being with no weight problems and possibly a husband. Charlie would have never endured HALF of the bullshit he had to growing up. And you and dad would not be divorcing right now. And, as you can see, Audrey is due any day now with my first child. But, unfortunately, you won't be around to see your first grandchild because you ruined our lives. So take a good look at me and Rerun, because after today, you won't be seeing us anymore for the rest of your miserable life!"

"You don't mean that," said Lacey, starting to cry.

"They mean it, Lace," said Larry. "And so do I. All of these years were a lie. And I'm tired of it. And I'm sorry I have to air our dirty laundry here at the reception for our deceased daughter, for which I'm holding you responsible for her killing herself also, but the secret was already out about Lucy's issues already."

Lacey looked at her youngest son. "Liam, I..."

"Don't… say… a fucking word!" growled Rerun. "Linus already told you! We don't want you in our lives! You can go rot in hell for all I care!" And he abruptly left the building, slamming the door behind him.

"You did this," said Linus. "Now you got to live with it." And Lacey looked at her son. There wasn't anything else to talk about at that point. So she slowly got up and walked out the door. Rerun didn't leave, instead he was outside smoking a cigarette, trying to calm down. His back was turned so he didn't see his mother walking out. She didn't say anything to him, so not to upset him further. She walked home in the cold January winter evening.

Back inside, Larry restored order. "I'm sorry, everyone. It was just pent-up anger that needed to be released."

"It's okay, Larry," said Silas, Charlie and Sally's father. "We all understand what you and your boys have been through. Don't we, folks?"

Everyone in the building agreed.

Silas continued, "Let's all forget this drama that just happened and enjoy everyone's company."

And everybody continued to talk and take it easy. Larry did promise to bring Lucy's ashes back to Lacey later that night. After that he was going to stay with Linus and Audrey until he found a senior living place that was affordable in Boston.

Later that night, Charlie and Violet was walking through their old neighborhood. They saw the old ballfield where they used to play baseball.

"Look at that," said Violet. "It hasn't changed one bit."

"I just hope the kids that are playing there now is taking good care of it," added Charlie.

"This brings back a lot of good memories," said Violet, getting reminiscent.

"Good memories?" asked Charlie. "What about all those games we lost?"

"I even yearn for those days, baby. Everything was simple then."

"No argument there. Listen Violet, I was thinking about us, and how we agreed to try out dating."

"Yes?"

"Well I figured I don't want to have a long-distance relationship. I want for us to be as close as possible. One thing that Lucy's death got me thinking about is how life is too short. And I want to spend all of my life with you. I've been a bachelor for too long, and I feel you were the right one for me the day we met. Even if I detoured a bit when the little red-haired girl came to town, and even though we didn't always get along, we understood each other more than anyone else. And you were right. I also believe it was destiny that we reconnected at LAX on the way here."

"Charlie! Are you asking me what I think you are?!"

"I am." And Charlie pulled out of his coat pocket a box containing a ring. Violet was starting to tear up with happiness. And he got down on one knee. "Violet Gray, will you marry me?"

Violet didn't waste any time answering that question. "YES! Yes, I'll marry you, Charlie Brown!" And the two newly-engaged lovebirds embraced in their old stomping grounds. Who would have thought it would be Lucy, through her death that brought them together?

NEXT CHAPTER: NEXT GENERATION OF VAN PELT