Daisy by Josi S. Kilpack

between him and his religious community. Though not as extreme, I’d been there too. It wasn’t until I’d stepped away from the church-centered life of my parents that I realized how much of my life had centered on it as well. It had been a difficult and lonely shift for me. I looked forward to seeing how things ended for Asher. I hoped they ended well. I could use a happy ending right about now.

Chapter 14
    Athena’s mother’s funeral was nice, if not a little awkward, since I’d never been to the funeral of someone I didn’t know. Add to that the fact that I was sitting with three women I barely knew in a very ornate and opulent church full of Greek people and it was hard to imagine why I wouldn’t be a little uncomfortable. Everyone was wearing all black except Paige and me, and I leaned over to her and told her how grateful I was not to be the only one out of dress code. She laughed behind her hand, and I felt a little more bonded to her than I had before. Who knew that the Greek Orthodox wore only black to funerals?
    Athena had looked surprised when she saw us, which was after the service when she was following the casket down the aisle of the chapel to the waiting hearse. She and a woman I assumed was her sister—same beautiful eyes—were walking on either side of a man who looked too old to be their father. He walked slowly, but kept looking around as though not sure why he was there. Athena looked tired and burdened, and I smiled slightly at her when she met my eye, hoping she felt my support. She mouthed “Thank you,” and suddenly I was glad I’d come.
    We followed the rest of the mourners out of the church, where several people headed for their cars. Athena, I imagined, was already in the limo that was pulling into traffic behind the hearse. The four of us had already decided not to go to the graveside service, as that seemed like something reserved for the family.
    “Athena’s mom sounds like a really neat woman,” Livvy said. She’d worn a black skirt and shirt today—not quite the same shade of black, but it was still a good color for her. It gave her face more definition somehow, and I made sure to compliment her. She looked away, uncomfortable but pleased, and I wondered if she got many compliments. She wasn’t unattractive. She had nice features and good skin; she was just . . . undone. She didn’t take the time to emphasize her good qualities, and in the process, few people likely noticed them. I made a decision right then to find something about her appearance I could compliment each time we ran into one another.
    The ladies talked about going to lunch, but I had to get back to work and made my good-byes. As I headed to my office in Irvine, I thought about Athena’s loss. I had the impression that she was quite close to her parents. She would probably miss her mother and struggle with the void in her life her mother had left behind.
    My parents were both alive and well in Chester, Virginia, living in the same house I’d grown up in. Dad still worked part-time for the manufacturing company he’d worked for since he’d been twenty-two years old. Last I heard, he’d taken up building cane chairs in his spare time. My mother kept busy with church work, and being a full-time grandma had replaced being a full-time mom rather seamlessly for her.
    Mom called me once a month or so, but she’d always been a hard woman, and our conversations remained rather superficial, talking about everyone but the two of us. She was giving and always available to help, but she never hesitated to share her opinions or pull a punch. I hadn’t talked to my dad for months, and the relationships with my siblings had been reduced to sending Internet jokes and prayer requests. I had only one of my sisters as a friend on Facebook, though my other siblings had profiles.
    I hadn’t been back to Virginia since just after Paul and I got married. I made that trip so my parents could see I could make a good choice.