Read Online Protected by Shelley Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

response.
    ‘That’s nice of him,’ I mutter,
sarcastically, as I bite into my tuna sandwich.
    ‘He asked me to tell you he is back on
Thursday, and asked whether you could carve out some time for him to discuss
Oliver,’ She recites, cautiously.
    ‘I’m flying to Boston tonight,’ I notify
her.
    ‘Boston?’ She mumbles, ‘you coming back?’
Her face is blank, seemingly shocked by my announcement.
    ‘Yes,’ I nod as I chew, ‘be back Friday.’
    ‘Sophie,’ Ellie scolds me, ‘you have to
start using full sentences.’
    ‘I’m eating, El,’ I put down my sandwich
and faced my new friend. ‘I don’t want to make a big deal, but it’s Oliver’s
funeral,’ I express.  ‘My dad wouldn’t allow me to lay him to rest in
Krystal, so I am flying out to Boston.  Not that he’s invited me, of
course,’ I mutter, as I pick up the stray pieces of tuna salad with a
fork. 
    ‘Oh, honey,’ she whispers, her sapphire
blue eyes, identical to Nate’s, regard me empathetically. 
    ‘It’s fine,’ I express, ‘I don’t want to
talk about it, I just want it over.’ I announce, matter of fact.  ‘My dad
doesn’t want me to go,’ I confide.  ‘But I should be allowed to say
goodbye, right?’ Tears blur my vision.  ‘Can anyone stop you from
attending a funeral?’ I ask.
    Ellie’s hand covers mine, ‘no Sophie, you
stand by what you believe in, doll,’ she whispers, ‘you want me to come with?’
She offers.
    ‘You would as well, wouldn’t you?’ I
sniff back a tear at the kindness and friendship this woman has offered me from
day one. 
    ‘Of course,’ she frowns, as if the idea
of me doubting that for a minute, is preposterous.
    ‘Thank you, Ellie,’ I smile weakly. 
‘But, no, I need to do this alone.  I need to face my father and tell him
exactly what I think of him.’ I tell her, a quiver in my voice.
    Ellie nods, ‘okay, babe. You need me, you
call, okay?’
    ‘Thanks, El.’  I feel so blessed to
have met Ellie Austin.  She’s known me for a couple of weeks and has
already adopted me as one of her own.   The sadness that brought me
to Krystal somehow being compensated by the depth of kindness in its occupants.
    ********
    As I walk into the chapel of the
crematorium, my heart is beating erratically. I dressed carefully in a black pencil
dress and high strappy nude sandals.  The weather is hot and humid, stormy
even, and I can tell it’s going to be an uncomfortable day in more ways than
one. 
    I ignore the curious glances from various
strangers, also dressed in various degrees of black, and take a seat on the
third row, where there is a gap.  I clasp my hands together in my lap and
swallow down the lump that is already forming in my throat.  Laying in a
maple coffin to the front of the chapel is my brother, at the age of
thirty-six, lifeless, his life ending before it began.  Someone sits
beside me, I feel the current between us and turn abruptly into a pair of soft
sapphire eyes.
    ‘Hey,’ Nate whispers, sliding an arm
across the back of the wooden bench.
    ‘Hi,’ I breathe, never more grateful to
see his handsome, friendly face.  ‘How are you here?’
    ‘Ssshhh,’ he tucks me into his side,
supportively, as the service begins.
    Sending Nate, a warm, appreciative smile,
I avert my attention to my father’s profile. He seems totally unaffected by his
surroundings as he sits there dressed in an expensive suit, his greying hair
swept back from his strong forehead and jaw.  Ollie had shown me pictures
of him and described the character of our dad, but I hadn’t seen him for myself,
like ever!  How sad is that? 
    Meeting Ollie for the first time, I knew
we had a connection, we both sensed it.  It was as if somehow we were
linked, despite our separation, as if deep inside, our souls were
familiar.  With my dad, that wasn’t the case at all, he was a stranger and
I had no profound urge or inclination to know him better.
    When I was younger, my grandparents