Tatia's pov
Me and Cole walk in together we were 30 minutes early and people were just starting to get here
"Cole, Tatia.... mom wants you guys up front with the rest of the family" Julie says taking mine and Coles hands
Bree was sitting next to Brent holding his hand
My sister and her family were sitting in the pew behind Bree and Brent
The rest of the first pew was empty and I'm guessing that's where me and Cole would sit
Xavier sits down next to Brent and somehow I know I'm going to end up between Cole and Xavier
The casket was open and I made the mistake of peeking inside before sitting down
He looked the same... he was still Jeremiah just different
He was still but I wish he wasn't... I hope he would sit up and offer to take me to the bar for a drink like Jeremiah would
I walk up to the casket by myself and I touch Jeremiah's hand
"I love you Jere.... I thank you for raising me and making me the person I am today... and giving me the three best friends any girl could ever wish for" I whisper and let go of his hand
I wipe a tear off my cheek before turning around and sitting down between Xavier and Cole
Lilly and Julie sit on the other side of Cole and everyone takes their seat
The pastor stands at the podium and starts the funeral
Cole grasps my left hand and Xavier takes my right
Lilly stands to talk and my heart hurts and tears burn behind my eyes but I don't let them fall
"Thank you all for coming Jere would have loved to see us all gathered here for him.... he always did love a good party" Lilly starts
The crowd laughs including me and the boys
"I have a letter here from Jere... labeled "for my funeral" so I'm gonna read it" she says
Lilly pulls out a letter and unfolds it
"If you are reading this, I am no longer walking the earth. None of you should worry when you pull out that old shot glass you will remember me." She reads
This sparks laughter
"To my sons, take care of your mother and your sister. They may say they don't need you but they will don't let them fool you. Also Tatia may not be my biological daughter but I loved her the same as you boys and she loved me too. You did it T you're a big shot nurse and you are everything me and Lilly and your mother and father would have ever wanted for you. Good job monkey." Lilly reads
My heart is ripped out and thrown on the floor and shattered into a million pieces
Hot salty tears stream down my face
Xavier pulls me into his chest and I feel Cole let go of my hand
I grip Xavier hard and his arms wrap around me
I cry silently
"To my children, I know that your mother will take care of you just fine. But you also need to watch out for each other. Yes this means beating up your sisters boyfriends when they hurt her. Also making sure your brothers don't fall in love with evil nasty girls. Protect each other and never turn your back on each other." Lilly says
I return to my upright position and wipe my face
I grab Coles hand again along with Xavier's
"To my friends, thanks for being there for me and my family through out our lives. A guy could not ask for a better group of people. Now I will open the floor for anyone who wants to say beautiful things about me because I know you all want to" Lilly finishes with a small tear streaking down her face as she sits down
No one stands to be the first speaker so I do
It was a rash decision but I let go of the boys hands and go to the podium
I stand in front of the mic a minute and look out at all the crying faces
"I'm Tatia, and Jeremiah was my best friend, he was my father figure, but overall he was a role model. He was such a good guy, he always knew the right things to say to make you smile. Jeremiah and Lilly adopted me when I was 4 and they took care of me and my sister until she was old enough to take care of both of us. Everything I am today I own to Jeremiah and Lilly. I'm a nurse in New York City and I just had a patient and he reminded me of Jeremiah so much. Even on deaths door he was joking with me and he wasn't the slightest bit sad. So I asked him one day, How can you be so upbeat and happy when your hurting so much? And he said because I lived and loved to my fullest extent and even though I'm in pain I know I supported my family and after they grieve for me they will be ok and that's all I want for them. Never once was Jeremiah selfish and I know that he found peace in the fact that his family will be okay." I say
I could feel the tears
"Thank you" I say leaving the podium and sitting down again
My sister stand up next which I wasn't expecting
"I'm Bridgette, Tatia is my little sister and what she said was beautifully put and true. When Jeremiah and Lilly first adopted us I gave him hell. Whenever he would try and help or tell me not to do something I would remind him of that fact he wasn't my real dad. But really now that I'm older I see now that he was the only dad I ever really had. I feel so bad for giving him such a hard time when I was younger but he took everything I could dish out with a smile and a joke. At the time that pissed me off so much but looking back that was just Jeremiah giggles and jokes. When I came back as an adult to visit Jeremiah and Lilly he offered me a drink and we talked about how horrible I use to be. We laughed and that was the last time I seen Jeremiah. I regret that, I wish I had lived back up here before this happened, Jeremiah died before I could tell him that me and my husband finally closed a deal on a house in Maine. And one thing I'm glad I did was I let Jeremiah walk me down the isle at my wedding, He held my son, he got to be a father to me and for that I'm grateful... thank you" Bridgette finishes and takes her seat
A few other people say things and I cry and so does Cole but I don't see a single tear flow down Xavier's face
The service is finished and we travel to the grave site
I get in Coles car and we follow Xavier on his bike who follows his mothers car
When we get there they do one final reading and they hand out flowers and Cole reaches out and grabs me one and hands it to me
"Thank you" I say
"Anything for you" he says eyes tired from crying
I hug him tight and he hugs me right back
Everyone starts to leave
Me and Cole walk back hand in hand to his car but before we reach the car I see my mothers headstone
I stop
"What's wrong Tia?" Cole asks
"My mother was buried here" I say
Cole looks at me like I'm going to break and I felt like it
He walks with me over to her grave
I dust the dirt off the top of her headstone
Cole wraps his arm around my waist
I stand and look at the stone for a minute
"I love you mom" I say before we walk away
Cole keeps his arm around my waist for support or just to be there I don't care he is there and I can feel that
everyone else starts leaving and me and Cole go to leave but I see Xavier still siting at the grave site
"I will meet you back at the church I have to do this" I say to Cole and I get out of his car
I hear him leave as I walk towards Xavier
"Hey X" I say
He looks up at me and I see the tears streaming fast
It finally hit him the feelings I have been feeling all day
I hug him hard and he hugs me back just as hard
I hold on to him for what feels like forever
"My dad is dead" he finally says
"I know... it hurts like hell... let it out" I say
And so he does he yells and cries and lets all the anger out
When he stops and wipes his face he looks at me
"Thanks" he says
"Together forever, remember" I say
He nods
"Lets get out of here" he says taking my hand and walking towards his bike
I get on the back of his bike and I take my shoes off and let my hair down
"Where are we going?" I ask
"Where ever you want" he says
I giggle and he leads the way
