A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"There's a lot of flowers.", I whisper as Christian and I make our way into the church for Sawyer's father's funeral. Following his mother's release from the hospital three days ago, Sawyer's mother along with Sawyer and Olivia started planning the funeral.
"They're all beautiful.", Gail adds. She and Taylor are walking behind Christian and I. Halfway to the front, we spot Audrey and Daniel.
"Hi.", Christian says.
"Hey.", Daniel murmurs. "Audrey and I were just talking last week about how all of us should get together for dinner or something."
"This is definitely not the way we wanted it to happen.", Audrey sighs. "Funerals aren't my favorite thing in the world."
"Mine either.", I say as Kate and Elliot walk up behind us. "Kate, Elliot, hi."
"Hi.", Kate replies. She looks towards the front of the church where Sawyer, his mother, and Olivia are standing to the left of the casket. Olivia briefly glances towards us and smiles slightly. "Olivia hasn't left his side."
The line to the front becomes shorter, and we soon find ourselves at the casket. Sawyer's mother wipes her eyes and turns to us.
"Thank you all for coming.", she sniffles. "Alan would so happy to see so many people here."
"That's because he was loved by many.", Sawyer says, placing his hand on the top of the closed casket. "I'm giving the eulogy. I only hope I don't mess it up."
"You're going to do fine.", Olivia tells him.
"Yes he will.", Taylor says. He steps forward and hugs Sawyer and his mother. The rest of us follow Taylor's actions.
"We're going to go find some seats. We'll talk to you after the service.", Christian says. He and I take a seat on the third row of pews. Taylor and Gail sit down beside us while Elliot, Kate, Audrey, and Daniel sit down on the row behind us. Soon, the rest of the mourners are seated, and the service begins. A man in his late fifties goes behind the podium and smiles at the crowd
"Thank you for being here today. My name is Robert Kline, and for the past twenty yours I've been the minister here at the church which was attended by Alan. Not only was he a member of the congregation, but he was also a friend. Our families enjoyed numerous get togethers. If you're sitting here today, there's a good chance you knew Alan and were affected by his greatness. Alan loved his family. Elaine was the love of his life. He lit up when he spoke of her. The same goes for his son Luke. He was so proud to be his father and was looking forward to the birth of his first grandchild. At this time, Luke is going to give the eulogy." The minister steps away from the podium as Sawyer stands and takes his place. He adjusts his tie and clears his throat.
"Often when kids grow up, they have heroes who they look up to, whether it's a famous baseball player or a movie star. It's someone who they idolize and want to be. I was lucky enough to live with my hero, my dad. From as early as I can remember I dreamed of being at least half the man he was. He was without a doubt the nicest guy in the world. Helping others was a natural part of him. When I was ten, he and I went camping. We had our tent and sleeping bags, and we were set. Not far from where we had set up camp, we saw an older gentleman who was struggling with setting up his own camp. My dad immediately went over to help. It turned out the guy and his own son used to go camping until the son passed away. Wanting to keep a part of his son's memory alive, the man decided at the spur of the moment to go camping. Unfortunately, he forgot both his tent and his sleeping bag.", Sawyer says. "My dad, being the man he was, offered his sleeping bag since he didn't think I'd want to be out in the open air. I told my dad I was fine without the tent. So, the man took the tent and some blankets we had in the car. We never saw or heard from the man after that, but it's a memory that's stayed with me. It's also one of many memories I have of my dad." Sawyer turns to the casket. I see both Sawyer's mother and Olivia wiping their eyes while Christian places his hand on my knee. "Your grandson or grandaughter will know all about you, the greatest man I've ever known." He goes and stands in front of the casket. "I love you Dad." Sawyer slowly walks back to his seat, and the minister then stands back up.
"One of Alan's favorite songs is by the country singer Vince Gill so as we conclude the service, we shall listen to "Go Rest High On That Mountain." The song starts playing as the casket is lifted by the pallbearers and carried out of the church with Sawyer, his mother, and Olivia following closely behind.
"It was a lovely service.", I tell Mrs. Sawyer. We're sitting in her sunroom, drinking coffee. Following the burial, many people gathered at the Sawyer home for a reception which has food that's been provided by family and friends.
"It really was.", she sighs. She looks out the glass in front of us and on to the back lawn. "I can still picture him outside with his gardening." She points to a small shed on the left side of the yard. "He started that shed the day before his cancer diagnosis. Even though he had his surgery and then treatments, he was determined to see the project through. It was two weeks ago that he finished. He was so pleased with it."
"It turned out great." Christian walks into the room after calling to check on Oliver who's with my mom and dad. "How's the baby?"
"He just got fed and is ready for a nap.", Christian answers. "Mrs. Sawyer, can I get you some more coffee?"
"No thanks. I've already two cups.", she replies as Sawyer enters the room. "Luke and I do want to talk to the two of you about something." Sawyer, sensing what his mother is about to say, sits down next to her on the sofa and nods. "It's about the funeral. When we were making the arrangements, the owner of the funeral home told me all of the expenses had been paid, but he didn't tell us who did it."
"I told my mom I had a feeling who paid for it.", Sawyer says, tilting his head in Christian's direction. A small lifts in the corner of his mouth. "Thank you."
"I wanted to do something even though it might not have been much.", Christian shrugs.
"It was a lot and greatly appreciated.", Mrs. Sawyer smiles. "Luke, where's Olivia?"
"She was a little tired so I suggested she go upstairs and rest a while. I'm now going to suggest you do the same."
"I still have guests."
"Most of the guests are gone.", Sawyer says.
"Christian and I need to be going as well.", I say as I stand next to Christian. "If you need anything, let us know."
"Where's your nose?", Christian coos to Oliver who's laying on the changing table. He leans down and touches Oliver's nose. "There's your nose. Now where's your toes?" He tickles the toes on Oliver's left foot. "There's your toes."
"He loves it when you do that.", I say. Christian picks Oliver up and strides over to me. "Mia called a few minutes ago. She and Nicholas are going to come by in a few minutes. She said she has something to show us."
"I wonder what it could be."
"She didn't give any hints." Together, we go downstairs and into the living room just as the doorbell rings. Christian places Oliver in my arms and goes to the door.
"You've got to come outside.", Mia says before the door is completely open. I grab Oliver's blanket that's on the sofa and wrap it around his body. Christian and I walk outside and see a dark blue van parked in front of the house. On the side of the van are the words "A Fork in the Road". "Ta da!"
"Mia, it look great.", Christian says.
"Thank you. Watch this." She gets inside the van and moment later slides up a window that's cut out on the side. "May I take your order?"
"All of the equipment is installed.", Nicholas tells us. "It's ready to hit the road."
"When exactly do you plan on being open?", I ask.
"Next Monday. Although I have the equipment and license, I still need to get food. I can't serve people if there's not any food.", Mia giggles.
"We have some things in the house. I could bring some stuff out and let you cook us something.", Christian tells her as he looks inside the van.
"Ok. What exactly are you wanting?"
"We have some ground beef in the fridge. How about you prepare some burgers." Mia moves away from the window for a second and returns with a piece of paper which she hands Christian. "What's this?"
"A list of the burgers I serve. Would you like a Hawaiian Burger? It's a traditional burger with pineapple. I also have a mango sauce I put on it. I also a burger called the Fire Engine Burger. It comes with hot sauce and jalapeno peppers."
"Sounds like a burger that'll burn the tongue."
"Hence the name Fire Engine Burger. What kind can I fix you guys?"
"I just want a burger on a bun with some cheese and mayo.", Christian answers.
"You want me to put a lot of jalapenos on it?", Mia teases.
"I don't want any on my burger. Got it?"
"Yes sir." Mia salutes with her hand and hops out of the van. "I'll get the ground beef and any other things I need."
"This is going to be great Mia.", I say.
"Thank you."