The service was in an hour at 11:00am. The sun was shining and the sky a brilliant blue. It wasn’t fair that Brianna was dressing to go to her husband’s funeral.
Instead of wearing the customary black dress, she was going to wear Brent’s favorite dress. It was knee length and the color was deep blue. He had always said that the color made her dark brown eyes pop. She had her waist-length chestnut hair pulled back; well half of it was pulled back and held up with a silver colored star shaped barrette.
Her father-in-law had arrived a few hours after Nick had driven her home. She’d left her car in the hospital parking lot because Nick had refused to allow her to drive herself home. It had been a few days before the hospital had released Brent’s body so she could bury him.
“Are you ready to go?” Matt, her father-in-law asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied. She hadn’t bothered with much makeup, definitely no mascara because she’d be crying it off anyway.
She stood up and joined her father-in-law; as they walked through the living room, Brianna’s gaze fell on her favorite picture in the entire world. It had been taken the very day Brent had proposed.
******Flash*Back******
They were getting ready to take a week-end long trip with Nick and his girlfriend Mona. They’d be spending two days on the ocean in Nick’s boat.
They left at 10:00am on Friday morning. They anchored fifty miles out but it was perfect.
The water was so clear that they could see down for many miles. The color of the water was so blue that there were no words to describe it.
That night they’d eaten the fish that Nick and Brent had caught earlier in the afternoon. Brianna had flat out refused to help them clean the fish because she hadn’t wanted to watch them kill the fish. Brent had sympathized but Nick had laughed when she said that she felt sorry for the fish.
They stayed up ‘til midnight talking and being stupid and then had gone to sleep.
When Brent had first suggested they go on the trip, she’d thought he wanted her to go along so he could get her in bed but it hadn’t been like that at all. It had been the complete opposite.
He woke her before sunrise the next day and they sat on the deck, his arms wrapped around her, watching the sun rise.
Nick and Mona joined them later when they smelled the food she and Brent had cooked.
They ate breakfast and began talking about what they were going to do that day.
All four of them were certified scuba divers but Brianna and Mona had never been diving out this far before so they decided to go diving.
They waited for a few hours until 10:00am before getting ready to dive.
Brianna emerged from her and Brent’s cabin in a bright fluorescent yellow bikini she’d bought days before.
“Dude!” Nick said. “That thing’s bright enough that you can see it from miles away.”
“Funny Carter,” she said slapping him in the back of the head.
They suited up and descended slowly. They stuck together for about ten minutes and then Nick and Mona swam five yards away.
Brianna was amazed at how beautifully clear the water was. She could still see up to the surface.
Ten minutes after Nick and Mona left, Brent scared Brianna out of her mind by tapping her on the shoulder from behind.
She spun around quickly afraid that something was wrong. Brent pointed and she saw what he was trying to show her. About three yards from them was a dolphin and its baby. They watched the dolphins until they swam away.
Twenty minutes later they surfaced. They stripped their wet suits and laid around in the sun for a while. Brent and Nick banished the girls to the cabin furthest from the galley for three hours while they cooked dinner that night.
Throughout dinner Brent had become increasingly nervous, “Brent, hon, what’s wrong?” Brianna asked.
“Nothing. I’m fine.” Brent replied.
They tried to keep a conversation going but every time one of them said something to Brent it took him forever to reply so they ended up giving up.
Finally they finished eating. Brent and Nick, who had learned their lesson the last time they’d cooked for the girls, had washed their dishes as they had cooked, so there weren’t many for Brianna and Mona to wash.
Nick pulled out his new toy, a brand new camcorder, and began trying to get everyone to do the craziest thing he could come up with.
Brianna and Brent were sitting on the back deck of the boat when Nick and Mona found them. “Hey B,” Nick said pointing to his pants pocket.
Brent scooted closer to Brianna, put his arm around her shoulder and leaned his forehead against hers. “Bri,” he began. “You’re the love of my life. I don’t know what I’d do with out you. I never want to find out. Will you marry me?”
For a moment Brianna was speechless. Then she managed to whisper, “Yes.”
******End*Flash*Back******
She still had the tape Nick had recorded that night.
They managed to get to the car without Brianna’s memory launching any more assaults on her.
When they got to the cemetery a half hour before the service began, there were already many people. They made their way through the mini crowd to the seats set up for the family. Brent’s oldest sister, Amalia, was the only one of his family there so far besides Brianna and his father.
Nick arrived a short time later; he sat down next to Brianna and hugged her.
When Brent’s mother arrived she protested that because Nick wasn’t family he couldn’t be sitting with them.
“Belle,” Brianna began. “A funeral is not the place to argue about whether or not someone’s sitting in the right place.”
Belle shut up and Reverend Camden stepped up to begin the service, “We’re gathered here to say goodbye to Brent. He was a loving son, brother, friend and husband…” at that point Brianna buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
Nick put h is arm around her shoulders and she turned and put her face to his shoulder and cried.
She listened to the reverend go on about Brent and his accomplishments, “One of which,” he said. “was marrying the love of his life Brianna.”
They played a few songs that Brent had loved, the last of which was ‘Girlfriend’ by N*sync. She had them play it because that was the song that had been playing in the club when Brent had, well asked Brianna to be his ‘girlfriend.’ She smiled at that memory.
Rev. Camden asked if anyone wanted to share memories that they had of Brent.
Both of his parents got up and spoke about him and the things he had done in life, even those things he wasn’t all that proud of.
Nick got up and spoke about the things he and Brent had gone through together. Then he said, “A while ago Brent and I were talking. He made me promise that if anything ever happened to him,” his voice cracked. “That at his funeral I would play his favorite movie. So here it is.”
Someone from the funeral home pulled the veil off of the thing behind Nick and revealed a television/VCR. Nick pressed play and the memory that had assaulted Brianna earlier came flooding back.
They watched the ten minute video and after he pressed stop Nick said, “Brent, we’ll miss you.”
A few moments later Brianna stood and walked to the podium. She wiped her tears before beginning, “I never thought I’d have to say goodbye so soon. Five years isn’t enough time. We didn’t get enough time to spend together. Recently I read a story and there was a poem included that really got to me. I’m going to recite that poem now. I had to change a few words to make it more fitting to my situation but it still means the same thing,” she paused and took a deep shaky breath and continued, “I’m not sure of its titled so I’m just calling it DON’T THINK.
Don’t think of him as gone away, his journey’s just begun
Life holds so many facets, this earth is only one
Just think of him as resting from the sorrow and the tears
In a place of warmth and comfort where there are no days and years
Think of how he must be wishing that we could know today
How nothing but our sadness can really pass away
Think of him as living in the hearts of those he touched
For nothing loved is ever lost and he was loved so much
Turning toward the dark green (Brent’s favorite color) casket, she said, “Brent you’re my world, my heart and my soul. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you I love you so much and I’ll miss you for the rest of my life.”
She sat back down and Rev. Camden stepped up to conclude the services.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry it's taken so long to update! I had a major paper due so my time was devoted to the paper. And now I've got another one to do but hopefully it won't be so long between updates. And yes I did get the name Reverend Camden from 7th Heaven.
