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- As Things Change - Part
XXVII
Andrew stands beside Asa's casket on the pulpit of St. James
church, presiding over the service. Renee is seated in front,
holding tightly to Nigel’s arm. Nora sits between Bo and
Matthew, holding Bo’s hand. The church is packed as the
town of Llanview pays tribute to one of its most well-known,
if not best loved, residents. Rex and Lauren are seated near
the back, alongside Stevie and Kallie. Viki and Clint’s
kids have all traveled to town to say goodbye. Rachel’s
flight is delayed so she slips into the back of the church with
Hank as the service starts.
-
- Clint and Kevin deliver eulogies.
Kevin makes the crowd laugh as he tells stories of Asa’s
tolerance for his grandkids’ missteps – patience Asa
rarely showed in any other aspect of his life. Matt listens to
the tributes, staring straight ahead. Nora glances at him from
time to time, a concerned look on her face.
-
- Bo takes his turn when Clint
and Kevin are finished. He clears his throat before he begins
his eulogy, speaking from his heart instead of any prepared text.
He looks directly at Matthew as he talks about how important
family was to Asa and how much he loved all of them. He points
out that Asa was certainly not a perfect man and he could be
demanding, but it was because he always wanted the best for his
family. Bo briefly chokes up as he says how much he will miss
his father and how he hopes to pass on the pride of being a Buchanan
to his son the way Asa instilled it in him. Nora kisses him softly
as he returns to his seat beside her. He leans forward and catches
Matt’s eye, smiling and mouthing, “I love you.”
Matt nods with a small smile, mouthing back, “Me too.”
Nora takes both of their hands as she sits between them, trying
unsuccessfully to keep her tears at bay.
-
- When the service ends, the
family waits for the guests to file out. Rachel makes her way
to the front of the church, hugging her mom and Bo. She turns
to Matthew, pulling him into her arms. “I missed you, little
brother.”
-
- He pulls back, giving her
a small smile. “Me too. It’s good to have you here.”
-
- When the church is empty,
the casket is removed and the family makes their way to the cemetery
for a short ceremony before the burial. Each member of the family
lays a rose on the casket in a final tribute. Matt drops his
flower on the casket, briefly skimming his hand over the smooth
surface before walking back to the limo. Nora sets her rose beside
Matthew’s and puts her fingers to her lips, then touches
the top of the casket. “Rest in peace, Asa.”
-
- She holds Bo’s hand
as he lays his rose between hers and Matthew’s. He places
his hand on the casket, much like Matthew had done, wishing he
could touch the man inside. He leans down and kisses the top
of the casket. “Goodbye, Pa. I know you’ll keep them
busy upstairs.”
-
- Nora smiles as he turns to
her, putting his arm around her. He kisses her as they walk over
to Renee. Bo kisses his stepmother on the cheek and pulls her
into a hug. “We’ll see you at the mansion.”
-
- Renee clings to Nigel as
they make their way to the casket to say their final goodbyes
in private. Bo and Nora join Matt and Rachel in the limo. They
make their way to the mansion where a small reception for family
and friends is being held. They enter the living room and split
up to chat with the assembled family. Nora goes over to hug Viki.
“That was such a lovely service. Clint and Kevin spoke very
well. Bo wasn’t sure he would get through his eulogy without
breaking up.”
-
- Viki gives her a small smile.
“Asa wouldn’t have stood for that. Bo’s speech
was lovely and heartfelt.”
-
- “I can’t believe
I’ll never hear that booming voice ever again.”
-
- “Yeah, I keep expecting
him to march through the door, asking why we’re all in his
house.”
-
- Bo walks out to the balcony
where Clint is enjoying a cigar with his boys. “You got
another one of those?”
-
- Clint reaches into his jacket
pocket and pulls out a cigar, holding it out to Bo. “We
raided Asa’s stash on the mantle.”
-
- Bo grins. “The one that
was supposed to be secret?”
-
- “Yeah. He always thought
he was so clever.”
-
- Kevin shakes his head. “Renee
was on to him. She just played along to make him think he was
sneaking.”
-
- “Even more than Renee,
Nigel knew everything he was up to.”
-
- Joey laughs. “Who do
you think kept refilling his ‘secret’ stashes?”
-
- Clint takes a puff of his
cigar. “He certainly had good taste. I’m gonna miss
the old man.”
-
- Bo nods. “Me too. I
guess you’re in charge of the family now, big brother.”
-
- “Hardly. I think you’re
all old enough to look after yourselves.”
-
- Bo shakes his head sadly.
“Except Matthew.”
-
- Joey looks at Bo. “How’s
he taking it?”
-
- “Not good. He hasn’t
said more than 10 words to Nora and me since we told him.”
-
- Kevin nods. “They were
close. Every time I talked to Grandpa, he would tell me something
about what Matt was up to.”
-
- Joey chuckles. “That’s
true. We’ve heard all about the fighting and the visit with
the principal. I’d wager it’s a girl, isn’t it?”
-
- Bo grins. “Yeah. I guess
it’s the Buchanan tradition – tripped up by women.”
-
- Clint laughs. “Well,
it all got started with Asa and his many wives, so we come by
it honestly.”
-
- Bo raises his glass. “To
Asa and his women. And ours.”
-
- Clint and the boys hold up
their glasses. “Amen to that!”
-
- Matt stands in the corner
of the living room, watching all the people milling around making
small talk. When he sees that no one is paying attention, he
escapes out the side door and heads up to the video game room.
-
- Nora walks back into the
living room, glancing around for her son. She sees the front
door open and heads in that direction to greet the arriving guests.
Michael and Marcie walk in. Michael is holding Miki. Nora walks
up to them. “Michael, Marcie. Thank you for coming.”
-
- Miki turns in Michael’s
arms and sees Nora. “Candy!” she squeals, practically
leaping out of his arms.
-
- Nora reaches out and takes
the little girl. “Miki! Hi, sweetie. What are you doing
here?”
-
- Marcie looks at Nora. “Candy?”
-
- Nora grins. “We’ve
met at the Center and she’s been to my office. Her frame
of reference is my candy dish.”
-
- Marcie smiles. “That’s
so cute.”
-
- Nora looks at them. “What
is she doing with you two?”
-
- Marcie glances at Michael.
He looks at Nora. “I guess Andrew hasn’t had a chance
to tell you. Marcie and I are moving forward with adopting Miki.”
-
- Marcie hurries on. “We
can only stay for a few minutes. This is our first unsupervised
visitation. We just wanted to stop in and say how sorry we are
for your loss.”
-
- Nora smiles at Miki. “You’re
adopting her,” she says softly, tears coming to her eyes.
-
- Marcie nods. “Yes. I
wanted to meet with you but then you left for the ranch and we
didn’t want to wait…”
-
- Nora shakes her head. “It’s
fine, Marcie. I’m so happy for you.” She holds Miki
close. “This is one special little girl. You’re going
to be wonderful parents for her.”
-
- Marcie grabs Michael’s
arm. “Thank you for saying that. We’re thrilled that
Miki will be coming home with us permanently really soon.”
-
- “If you need any help,
please let me know.”
-
- “Of course we will.
If it’s okay. We know you have a lot on your plate right
now…”
-
- “It’s no bother,
Marcie.” Nora looks down at Miki with a smile. “I don’t
know about candy but if you go into the kitchen, I’d bet
you could find a cookie or two. Would you like that?”
-
- Miki smiles up at her, nodding.
“Yes!”
-
- Marcie takes Miki. “We
can find our way.”
-
- Nora hugs Marcie and Miki.
“It’s so good to see you. Take good care of this little
angel.”
-
- Michael puts his arm around
Marcie. “We will.”
-
- Marcie and Michael head toward
the kitchen. Nora waves at Miki as she grins at her over Marcie’s
shoulder. The door opens again and Stevie and Kallie walk in.
Nora smiles when she sees them. She walks over and gives Stevie
a hug. “Hi, Mrs. Buchanan. I’m sorry about Matt’s
grandpa.”
-
- Nora releases him and steps
back. “Thank you so much for coming. Both of you. Matt needs
his friends right now.”
-
- Kallie nods. “How is
he doing?”
-
- “He’s pretty crushed.
I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you both.”
-
- “Do you know where he
is?”
-
- Nora holds up her finger.
“Just a sec. Let me check.” She walks over and pokes
her head in the living room, glancing around for her son. When
she doesn’t see him, she turns and walks back over to the
kids. “He’s not in there. If I know Matt, he’s
hiding out in the game room.”
-
- She points to the stairs.
“Up there, third door on the right. Go on up.”
-
- “Thanks, Mrs. Buchanan.”
-
- Nora watches as Stevie and
Kallie make their way up the stairs. As she is about to turn
and go back to the guests, she feels an arm around her waist.
She turns into Bo and hugs him. He kisses her cheek. “How
you holding up, honey?”
-
- She pulls back and smiles
at him. “You smell like cigar.”
-
- He grins. “Clint and
the boys found Asa’s stash.”
-
- “Uh huh. So you had
to join them?”
-
- He shrugs. “It was in
honor of Pa. Can’t let good Cuban cigars go to waste.”
-
- “If you say so.”
-
- He glances toward the stairs.
“Was that Stevie and Kallie I saw?”
-
- “Yeah. I sent them up
to see Matt. I’m pretty sure he’s in the game room.”
-
- “Probably. I hope they
can lift his spirits.”
-
- “Me too.” She takes
his hand. “Come with me. There’s someone I want you
to meet.” She leads him in the direction of the kitchen.
-
- Stevie follows Kallie down
the hall and into the game room. They see Matt sitting in front
of the TV, playing a video game. Kallie hangs back as Stevie
walks up and sits beside him. “How goes it, Buchanan?”
He shrugs. “You never returned my calls, ya bum.”
-
- Matt gives him a half grin.
“I didn’t feel like talking.”
-
- Stevie picks up the other
controller. “Okay, so let’s play.”
-
- Kallie sits on the other
side of Matt, watching the boys play the game, not really getting
into it. Matt hits the pause button and turns to her. “You
wanna play?”
-
- “No. I’ll just
watch. Are you going to talk to me?”
-
- He glances at her cautiously.
“Sure… What do you want to talk about?”
-
- “We can start with why
you didn’t call me or Stevie.”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I was
going to…”
-
- “You didn’t invite
us here today. Didn’t you want us to be here for you?”
-
- “I didn’t figure
you would want to go to a funeral. It’s not exactly fun…”
-
- “Of course we wanted
to be here – for you, dummy.”
-
- Stevie chuckles. “You
tell him, Kallie. I’m going to raid the kitchen downstairs
and let you lovebirds work it out.”
-
- Matt glares at him as Stevie
walks out of the room.
-
- Nora pulls Bo into the kitchen
where Miki is sitting at the table, a cookie in each hand, grinning
at Michael as he makes faces at her. They stand in the doorway,
watching the little girl. Nora turns to Bo and whispers, “That’s
Miki.”
-
- He looks at her questioningly.
“That’s the little girl…”
-
- Nora nods, leaning closer
to him. “Michael and Marcie are going to adopt her.”
-
- “Really?” He looks
back at the little girl, giggling with delight as she eats her
cookies. “She is a cutie.”
-
- Marcie notices them standing
in the doorway. “Oh! Hi. Miki found the cookies, as you
can see.”
-
- Nora and Bo walk into the
kitchen. Miki holds up her hands. “You wanna cookie?”
-
- Nora laughs. “Not one
of those! You eat them, little one.”
-
- Miki giggles and pops the
remains of one of the cookies in her mouth. “All gone.”
-
- Marcie takes her hands, wiping
them with a napkin. “Sorry we made such a mess. We’ll
clean it all up when we’re finished.”
-
- “Don’t worry, Marcie.
It’s certainly not the first mess this kitchen has seen.”
Bo crouches down to Miki’s level. “Hi, there. What’s
your name?”
-
- She eyes him cautiously.
“Miki…”
-
- Nora crouches beside him.
“Miki, this is my husband, Bo.”
-
- Miki throws herself into
Nora’s arms, burying her head in Nora’s shoulder. She
peeks at Bo shyly. “Hi,” she whispers.
-
- Michael smiles. “She’s
a little shy at first. French fries work great to break the ice.”
-
- Miki pops her head up. “Fries?”
-
- The adults all laugh as Miki
hides in Nora’s shoulder again.
-
- Stevie is coming down the
stairs as Rachel is going up. “Hi, Rachel. I didn’t
know you were in town.”
-
- She gives him a quick hug.
“I came in for the service – and to hang out with my
baby brother. Have you seen him?”
-
- Stevie jerks his thumb toward
the game room. “He’s kinda busy talking to Kallie.”
-
- Rachel nods, linking her
arm in Stevie’s. “Then we should let them talk.”
-
- He leads her down the stairs.
“I thought so. I’m going to the kitchen. Asa always
has it stocked…”
-
- Michael and Marcie are packing
up Miki as Stevie and Rachel walk in. Rachel smiles at Miki.
“Aren’t you a cutie.”
-
- Nora smiles. “This is
Miki. Michael and Marcie are going to adopt her.”
-
- “That’s so great.
I admire couples who are willing to adopt an older child and
not hold out for an infant. Good for you.”
-
- Marcie holds Miki close.
“I met Miki at the Center and just fell in love. We can’t
wait for the adoption to be final.”
-
- Bo puts his arm around Nora’s
waist. “Congratulations to all of you. And thank you for
coming.”
-
- “We obviously couldn’t
come to the service but we wanted to stop by and express our
condolences. Asa was a giant of a man.”
-
- Bo smiles. “He was larger
than life.”
-
- Michael looks at Marcie.
“We really should go. We have to have Miki back to Mrs.
Floyd by 6.”
-
- “You’re right.
And we have to stop by the apartment before we take her back.”
-
- Nora gives Marcie a hug.
“Thank you for bringing her. It’s so good to have little
ones around at a time like this.” She kisses Miki’s
cheek. “You be good, sweetie. I’ll see you at the Center.”
-
- Nora walks them out and returns
to the living room. She sees Renee sitting by herself on the
sofa so she joins her. “How are you holding up?”
-
- Renee looks at her with tears
threatening. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.
I always thought he was too ornery to die. He just wouldn’t
let it happen.”
-
- Nora takes her hand. “Yeah,
I always felt that way too.”
-
- “I should have seen
this coming. All the drinking and smoking cigars. Even though
he tried to hide it, I knew what was going on and I didn’t
stop it.”
-
- “Oh, Renee. Asa lived
by his own rules. You couldn’t have stopped him from doing
as he pleased. It’s just who he was.”
-
- “Yeah, and look where
it got him.”
-
- Nora gives her a small smile.
“Yes, but he had a good, long life Renee. I can’t imagine
he had any regrets at the end.”
-
- “No, I guess not. I’m
just going to miss him so much.”
-
- “Me too. I can’t
believe I’ll never hear him yell at me again about coddling
Matthew. I never thought I would miss that…”
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