He answers the phone, "Yo bubba, what's going on?"
I was fighting back the tears and trying not to lose it over the phone. "Got some bad news dad" I said.
"Okay, what's wrong?" he says.
"Well, there was a robbery at mom's workplace today and there were alot of people injured in the midst of it. Mom was hurt really bad."
"Son, what's going on? Just tell me."
"Mom is dead!" I cried out... "She is dead."
The phone got silent. I heard my dad take a deep breath and say "oh man." Then I told him what had happened. For the most part, there was nothing that he could say. He just sat there and listened to me tell the story and I would hear the occasional whimper. Since I am not a parent, I never knew or could understand how it feels to see your child get hurt in a way that literally rips you to the bone. Dad told me that this was the only time in his life that he felt so helpless because this was a wound that he couldn't kiss and make it feel better. He would later tell me that it pained him to see his kids in so much pain, that he literally got sick over it. I just remember telling him that I wanted him here in Texas so bad. He said that he would be there.
As the week went on, we planned the funeral, family came in from all over the place, people and cousins that we hadn't seen in years. One of those people that we hadn't seen was mom's brother, David. This was the first time that I had seen him since I was about 6 or 7 years old. My sister wanted to just stay away from him, but I was not shy about talking to him. I have always been the one who didn't want to rock the boat. When David arrived, I saw his wife Clydene and my cousin Joanna. I remember just hugging Joanna for a long time. I think that we were both excited by the fact that we finally got to see each other after all these years. There was a rift in the family for years, but none of that mattered now. They were here. Another person that showed up was our Cousin Jimmy. He always considered himself the "black sheep" of the family along with mom. Jimmy was a professional entertainer that had a close relationship with mom as well. They had very similar personalities and emotions. Jimmy took mom's death very hard.
As more family arrived, so did the stress level. Me and Charity were retreating into the back bedroom and just trying to hide from everyone. Funny, when your around family, you are supposed to feel great and warmth and love. It wasn't that we didn't feel that, it was there were just alot of people. As the day got closer to the funeral, the more family would come in. I would see mom's sisters, Marsha, Sondra and Pam. Sondra was the oldest, Marsha was second and Pam was the third child. Mom was the baby.
You know, I usually enjoy family reunions, but this one I did not. As the day was approaching for the funeral, the details and arrangements were being made. Now me and sis were sitting in the dining room talking about pallbearers and who was going to carry mom to the grave. I knew in my heart that mom wanted me to carry her to the grave. One of mom's friends suggested otherwise, that i should be sitting with the family and that the son doesn't do that during funerals. Sis just sat there and agreed with her.
I was so mad...
I just had someone tell me that I couldn't carry my mother who was just murdered to her own grave. Take a little piece of advice from me on this. If you are ever doing or planning a funeral for a family member, and you want to be a part of it, DO IT!!! Don't let anyone sway or talk you out of it. You will feel robbed if you don't. But that was just the beginning of things.
The worst was yet to come...
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