| Chapter 74: The Funeral Lauralee stared out of the window of her old bedroom, wishing this day had never come. Sure, she had wanted to be back in New York, visiting family and friends, or possibly here to perform and do some promo work for the album, but that wasn’t why she was here. It wasn’t the reason for many people to be here on this day. She took one look around her room, recognizing the familiarity of the space—prom pictures on the dresser, a calendar on the wall and old stuffed animals on the bed. Her room had stayed the same, but was it reflective of her now, or of her past? Her mother had kept it meticulous for her, hoping that when she had made one of her many trips back she was going to stay at home. This trip home was different, one that she hoped she would never have to make again, and her mother knew it too. A soft knock was on her door. “Lau?” “Come in.” It was Alex. “Babe, the limo is downstairs and everyone is waiting.” “Just a minute, OK?” “Sure.” He closed the door behind him, came behind her and put his arms around her waist. “This is it. Are you ready?” “I don’t think I will ever be. God I never thought this could happen.” She leaned back into him, hoping to gather strength just by falling into his arms. “Lau, you have to be the strongest person I know. You’ve been everyone’s rock for the past week. It’s OK to fall apart every once in a while. Lauralee closed her eyes, fighting back tears, and managed to do so. “Can’t now. Can’t let everyone down.” “This isn’t a show, you know.” “I know, but if people count on me for something as small as that, how can I not have them count on me for something like this?” She turned around to stare at his slightly red eyes. “It’s not my time yet.” “Well, when it is, I’ll be here like I always am,” he caressed her cheek. She grabbed Alex’s hand and followed him downstairs and outside where the limousine was waiting. Her mother and grandmother’s car had left already. Reporters were there, watching her get into the car. A shower of questions came upon her like a thunderstorm. “How do you feel Lauralee?” “Do you have anything more to say to your fans to console them?” “Will this affect the album?” “How are the others handling this?” Lauralee just ignored them as Mario blocked them from her path and entered the limo with Alex. The rest of the crew was staring at her as Mario closed the door and rushed to the front with the driver. “Hey girl, you OK?” Laura asked as she took her hand. “Fine,” she responded softly. “Where’s…” “He’s in the family car,” Brian said. Lauralee just nodded. She took a long look at her friends in the car: Alex, her arm around her as if he would never let go. Laura—molded to Kevin’s torso, letting a lone tear escape and quickly wiping it away. Elizabeth, resting her head against Brian’s shoulder. Bianca, holding Nick’s hand for dear life. Each was in their own world, not knowing what today, or the rest of their lives would be. No one dared to speak, as if they did they would throw their emotional roller coaster off the track. She wondered what everyone’s train of thought was. She turned to Alex, who smiled at her. She knew he was trying to read her thoughts, wondering what she was going through. She appreciated it, but no one could. She smiled back, patted his knee, and stared at the world go by her. She didn’t know what her friends’ thoughts were, but hers reverted to the past; events that led her here, it this car, with these people, on a way to a place that would be a beginning or an end… ~*~ Lauralee’s thoughts came to a halt as the limousine stopped and Mario got out. “Wow, look at all of these people!” Bianca exclaimed as she looked out the window. They all turned their heads. People, lots of people, lined up outside of the church with signs, holding candles or Veronica’s picture, and were throwing flowers on the car. Mario helped Lauralee out first. The people waved as she got out of the car, followed by the rest of them. They all walked in together, looking straight ahead. Lauralee gasped at the sight of the church. People lined to the hilt, with flowers of every kind imaginable placed at the altar. The church was perfumed with the scent of the flowers as the organ played a soft melody. The group was escorted towards the front, behind the family and Howie, people murmuring as they walked past them. They gave Veronica’s family and Howie hugs, then took a seat. Lauralee looked straight ahead, feeling her grandmother’s hand on her shoulder. “You’re tougher than you look, kid,” Catherine whispered in her ear. Lauralee patted her hand as the organist began to play “Amazing Grace” and they all stood. The pallbearers brought the white coffin along the isle, walking slowly and people giving the sign of the cross as the coffin went past them. Lauralee followed the coffin with her eyes, tears welling up, and wanting to scream so bad she felt it to the depths of her soul. She put her hand on Howie’s shoulder, who held his head down and closed his eyes. The coffin was placed near the altar, the music stopped, and the priest stood before the altar. “Welcome friends and family. Today, we welcome Veronica’s soul into the House of God, although we feel that God has taken her much too quickly. God had a plan for Veronica, at first bringing joy into the lives of millions by joining her friends with their gift of song, but now we realize that God had a higher purpose for her, one that only He would understand. She is survived by her parents, Carmela and Anthony, her grandparents, her family, and her friends. Let us pray.” The priest gave readings, said a sermon, and threw holy water onto the coffin. Lauralee listened intently to the priest’s words, looked around at the flowers, anything to distract her from the emotions building up in her body. “At this time, Veronica’s friend Lauralee would like to say a few words,” the priest extended his hand. Lauralee took a deep breath, held her paper firmly in her hand and with as much strength as she could muster, stood up and walked to the coffin. She laid a hand on the coffin. Veronica please give me strength… She shook the priest’s hand and went to the lectern. “Thank you father. Welcome friends, family, and loved ones. I never thought that today would happen, not for a long time. I always thought that I would be an old lady when I would be giving this eulogy, being surrounded by her children and grandchildren. But I believe the priest was right when he said that God has a bigger plan for Veronica, one that I really don’t understand, or any of us for that matter.” Lauralee took a deep breath. “There are so many things that I could say about Veronica, things that the world already knows and things that they don’t. You all know what her favorite color was, blue. You know what her favorite movie was, Terms of Endearment. And they all knew that she had the voice of an angel, one that could bring someone to laughter, to understanding, and yes, to tears. People knew who she was, a member of Elegance. But whom I want to talk about today is not Veronica—a fifth of a group, but Veronica, my best friend.” “I met Veronica when I didn’t have anyone in the world that I could relate to. When I was in high school at a dance, a sophomore came up to me and started a conversation. I had no clue at the time that there would be a few thousands of them after that, some meaningful, some that got us into trouble, and some that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Veronica was the type of person that would listen and listen, never putting in her two cents until you were through. And her two cents were not the type that you could just brush away, no; you listened and took heed in her words. And I got many pieces of advice from her, ones that I will take with me for the rest of my life. But I won’t hear those conversations from her. I won’t get to call her after I’ve had a problem or a fight with someone. We’ll just have to look back in our memories, finding a phrase or word that will best fit the situation, and hope it will work. Knowing Veronica, it will always work.” “To her family, I say this. Veronica loved you all so much. She spoke about you all the time, and had such reverie and love for you. I remember when we got our recording deal, the first thing she wanted to do was improve her parents’ house, set up her cousins with a college education, and make sure her family was well taken care of. I hope that you all realize what a caring, beautiful and loving relative you had. Please, take the love that Veronica gave to you, and use it to make your own lives more meaningful.” “To her friends,” Lauralee looked at the group. “You all know what a reliable and sweet friend Veronica was. Not only was she a good listener, but she tried to push you to be a better person by taking chances on life. If it was convincing you to take that extra step in a job, or even trying out a new place to eat, she never let you settle for second place; she knew that you could go that extra mile. She may have been stubborn, but she never made you feel like you were not as important as the next person was. If Veronica taught us one thing, it was how to strive, to dream, and to love.” “I really don’t have any way to describe how I feel about Veronica’s death. We’ve all been feeling so much. We feel sadness for our loss, but at the same time we feel anger. Anger that she was take away from us so suddenly and so tragically. However Veronica wouldn’t want us to be angry. Veronica would wants us to celebrate her life, celebrate what she has accomplished and what she has left behind. To us, she will always be young, she will always be beautiful, and she will always watch over us, hoping that we can keep her words, her advice, her love, and her memory alive.” The crowd approved with silent whisperings as she stepped down, gave Veronica’s family a hug, and sat down. Alex gave her a hug, the girls and guys grabbed her hand with tears in their eyes, and her family behind her squeezed her shoulders. ~*~ They arrived at the cemetery, walking in silence to the fresh grave to the smaller gathering of people waiting there. It was only Veronica’s family, Howie, his parents, the girls, the guys, Sandy, Catherine and the priest. The priest gave a blessing over the coffin, as the others began to weep silently. As the coffin was lowered, Carmela and Anthony threw two red roses on the coffin; then Howie stood up, kissed the bud of the rose, and threw it. The girls and guys got up, each taking a yellow rose and throwing it on top of the coffin. The coffin was now lowered, as the people began to disperse. Lauralee walked away last, standing there and not wanting to leave. Alex came behind her and led her away. Lauralee looked back as they began to lay the dirt over the coffin. She’s really gone… oh God she’s really gone! Chapter 75 Contents Chapter 73 |