Blessed Fate by Hb Heinzer

people on a nightly basis, I felt the pressure to do well weighing down on me like an anvil as Travis and I ran through our parts one last time as mourners filed into the church. Rain's dad had given us an incredible honor; I didn't want him to regret his decision to ask us to play during his wife's funeral and have that lead to another crack in the fragile bond her family was starting to form.
    My attention pulled away from the music when I heard one of my favorite sounds that I hadn't been hearing very often…Rain laughing. I looked to the back of the sanctuary to see her hugging Mike, the middle of the three Neumann boys. While they would all give anything to have Mrs. Neumann back, I felt like the matriarch of the family was looking down on them orchestrating this healing process.
    The look on Rain's face when she sat next to me in the front pew crushed me. Never before had I felt an ache in my chest like the one that had taken up residency since she got the call that her mom was gone. My pain wasn't for the woman they lost; mine was for the broken badass sitting next to me who would never get to make amends with her mother. I reached for Rain's hand, enveloping her delicate fingers in my palm. She turned her head to me, the anguish in her face softening for a moment when our eyes locked on one another. Throughout the sermon and eulogies, we maintained our connection, my thumb continuously brushing the back of hand.
    The nerves I felt earlier returned as we took our places in front of the lectern. I think I was more anxious than Rain was because I didn't have the added distractions she had. I looked to her, took a few breaths and nodded to Travis as I started playing the opening chords. When I looked to Rain three bars before the first verse started, she nodded to me and smiled. Even though she gave me the signal that she was ready to go, I knew she was hanging on by a thread.
    Before the end of the first verse, Rain's eyes were starting to glaze over with unshed tears and I caught her voice cracking a few times. I looked back to Jon, nodding imperceptibly, the signal we had arranged the night before letting him know that I was going to support her on melody, and he would have to carry the harmony. We didn't want Rain to think we doubted her ability, which is what would have happened if she knew we had a contingency plan for the song. We knew her well enough to know it would be nearly impossible for her to turn off the emotion since she couldn't even listen to Travis play Dust in the Wind in the basement without crying.
    As the Neumann children said a final goodbye to their mother, and Rain's brothers took their places as pallbearers, Travis and I quietly made our way back to our instruments. After Rain and I had gone upstairs after the visitation, Travis talked to her dad to make sure he was okay with us playing as the mourners filed out of the church. Rain looked back to us, her eyes wide, and then looked to see her dad's reaction before shaking her head that everyone knew about this except for her.
    At the cemetery, our plan was to stand off to the side a bit, so we weren't disrupting the burial ceremony. Mr. Neumann had a much different idea.
    "Colton, can I speak with you for a moment?" He tilted his head to the side, drawing me away from the gathering crowd. "I'd like it if you and your friends would stand with us. You are obviously very special to my daughter, and she needs you right now."
    "Yes, sir."
    I looked over my shoulder to see Rain nervously watching our exchange. When she reached me, I slid my hand to the small of her back, leading her to the front row. She leaned her back against my chest through the brief ceremony, finally allowing me to comfort her the way I wanted to.

 
    A Tragic Situation?
    It seems there's trouble in paradise for Blessed Tragedy guitarist Colton Bradford and lead singer Rain Maxwell. Just days ago they were spotted cuddling and kissing, but that most definitely wasn't the case