Head Over Heels (8 page)

Thane sat up straighter and looked over at Eboni, who sobbed in her hands. Christ, had Gunnar announced that he would be a dad soon and hadn’t even shared that news with Thane?

“I will always remember Elizabeth Sommerville, not as the business owner or the woman who wore all the jewels and makeup, and had the great clothes and shoes. I’ll remember her as the one who liked teasing me. I’ll remember the woman who could make me laugh. I’ll remember the way her bracelets would jingle next to each other. Looking around today, I can see she was loved by more than just her family. I hope you all have great memories of her like we do. Thank you all for being here. Thank you all for loving her.”

Gunnar returned to his chair. He kept his head held high as the reverend returned to the podium to conclude the funeral. Thane, Gunnar, Gideon, Tillman, an employee from Press ’N Curl, Victor, an employee from Pick ’N Clip, and Fred all served as pallbearers. They carried the casket out to the hearse.

It took all of Thane’s strength to release the coffin to slide it in the back. He couldn’t let his mother go. Going to the gravesite would be worse than the funeral.

As he suspected, sitting down next to where his mother’s body would be lowered and kept, rattled him. Thane wanted to crawl out of his skin. He peered up, and through the crowd, he spotted a woman he hadn’t seen before, which for today, meant nothing. He’d sat through a whole funeral service next to a man who’d professed undying love for his mother.

This woman captured his attention, not because she stood far back from the crowd. Her long, black hair held full curls. Her oak-colored skin tone looked golden in the March sun. Whereas everyone else wore sunglasses, she didn’t. Her almond-shaped brown eyes had him sucked in without her even staring at him. She kept her gaze on the coffin, even as they lowered it into the ground.

At the conclusion of the service, Thane stood, trying to keep up with this mysterious woman.

“Are you coming back to the house?” Gideon tugged on Thane’s jacket.

“What?” Thane broke from his stare to regard his brother.

“Mom’s house. We’re having family and a few close friends over. You coming?”

Thane turned back to where he’d seen the woman. She’d disappeared. Damn. “Uh, no. I’m going to—”

“I know what you’re going to do.” Gideon shook his head. “It’s Mom’s funeral. Can’t you cool it for a day for her?”

“Christ, Gid, I wasn’t even thinking about—” Thane stopped himself. He hadn’t thought of anything inappropriate with the mystery woman until Gideon had put the idea in his head. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

Gideon hobbled off with Janelle by his side. Gunnar had stayed behind with Eboni to talk to the reverend and the funeral director. As always, Gunnar made sure to take care of everything, leaving nothing for the rest of them to do.

Thane crawled into the stretch limousine and managed to get to a seat opposite Gideon and Janelle. The plush interior seemed out of place with what had happened. To match his heartache, Thane would have been happy riding in a broken-down pile of crap.

Thane ran his hands over the empty seats beside him. The darkened windows along with the black carpeting and black seats gave the space an eerie feel. Then Thane peered over to see a small bar. Although not a big drinker, especially during game season, he needed something to take off the edge. As he leaned over to grab a small bottle of whiskey, the door opened.

Gunnar helped Eboni inside before he hopped in and closed the door behind himself. They positioned themselves at the back row before the big car took off toward their mother’s home.

The thought of going to Elizabeth’s house again forced Thane to continue reaching for the booze.

“Mom’s family and friends will be at her house.” Gunnar’s deep voice carried a harsh quality. His warning tone, directed at Thane, came with a complementing glare.

Thane cracked the top, breaking the silly paper seal. “Is that supposed to mean something?”

“It means you shouldn’t be loaded when you talk to Reverend Rufus or Aunt Millie.” Gideon stretched his leg in front of him as he draped his arm around Janelle. “Can you hold off until after everyone leaves?”

Thane scanned his brothers’ faces along with the ladies, who both had problems connecting their gazes to his. He recognized shame and embarrassment. He didn’t want the women to feel bad. He could care less what his brothers thought.

“I’ll pop a mint in my mouth.” He tipped the miniature bottle, pouring the contents down his throat.

The smooth burn oozed down inside like a tasty river of lava. Thane closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the plush seating. Once the liquid settled in his belly, he had to grit his teeth to endure the discomfort he’d caused himself. He squeezed his eyelids closed as the wave of pain crested and flowed away. Even with the ache, he wouldn’t stop drowning his sorrows.

Take away all memories of today. Let me forget it all.

“Great.” Gunnar shook his head. “Perfect.”

Thane shook his head. “Nope. That’s not me.” He reached for another bottle, rum this time. “I’m not perfect.”

“Mom’s barely in the ground and you’re—”

“Gunny!” Eboni tugged on Gunnar’s arm. “Please.”

Gunnar looked down at Eboni. “So he’s allowed to make a fool of himself, and we all have to excuse his behavior?”

“Why not? We did it for you for years.” Thane said what he’d been thinking for a while and felt no shame in his words, even as Gunnar shot laser beams at him with his stare.

“What? The alcohol makes you brave?” Gunnar started to get up like he wanted to get to Thane when Eboni’s hand on his arm and Gideon’s forearm across his chest stopped him.

“Chill, guys.” Gideon pushed Gunnar back. “Can we get along for Mom’s sake?”

“Yeah. After today, you won’t have to deal with me anymore.” Thane downed the second bottle and tossed it to the floor.

Gunnar took a deep breath and lowered his head. He put his hands together in prayer form. Had Thane reduced his brother to seek answers through religion?

“We’re all we have now.” Gunnar brought his head up and stared at Thane. “We have to stick together.”

Thane wanted to have a smart comeback to Gunnar’s statement. He wanted to blast his brother for wanting to bond as a family when Gunnar had taken off as soon as he could, running away from the only family he knew. Somehow, Eboni had learned to forgive him. Thane hadn’t gotten to that place yet.

Thane reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tin of wintergreen Altoids. He showed the container to Gunnar, opened it, and popped two mints into his mouth. Without another word, he turned his back on the group. He wanted this ride and this day to end.

Thane recognized the landscape as they approached their final destination. Knowing his mother never drank, he collected as many of the small bottles of alcohol from the mini bar that he could. He heard a small gasp. When he turned in the direction of the sound, he found Janelle covering her mouth as she turned her head away from him. Gideon, however, kept up his stare.

“Don’t do this, man.” Gideon shook his head. “We’re all hurting.”

“Then come see me if you need something.” Thane peeked at Gunnar, who hadn’t raised his head since he’d last spoken to Thane.

Thane thought he would be okay not getting a judgmental look from his oldest brother. Being ignored, he found, hurt as much as the comments. His gut wrenched even as he stuffed the bottles in his jacket pockets. The glass clinked like a whisper of a promise for his salvation.

As the limo slowed to a stop in front of Elizabeth’s home, Thane wasted no time in getting out of his seat and opening the door.

“You want to wait until we come to a complete—”

“No.” Thane cut off Gideon and stepped out of the car that stopped abruptly.

More than likely, the driver had caught sight of the door opening and wanted to make sure his passenger didn’t injure himself. Thane stumbled but managed to stay upright as he stomped up to the house. Inside, he found his mother’s flower shop employee, Victor, putting the final touches to a lovely buffet table along the dining room wall. The place had flowers of all kinds everywhere—by the front door, under each window, over every surface, and even from the ceiling. A beautiful bouquet of daisies hung from the center of the room like a decorative but living chandelier.

“Hey, Thane.” Victor pulled Thane into a hug.

Thane left his arms dangling on his sides at first, but he couldn’t deny this old family friend. He patted Victor on his back, which triggered the waterworks. Victor embraced Thane harder and cried, which came with long, loud screeching wails.

“We all miss her.” Thane continued rubbing Victor’s back to calm him down.

The hug actually started to slow Thane’s raging heartbeat. He found that he missed a personal connection like this, one his brothers had been offering to give him all day.

The front door opened. He saw Eboni and Janelle walk through before Gideon and Gunnar walked in behind them. Not wanting them to see him looking vulnerable, Thane released Victor. He handed the older man a napkin to wipe away his tears before going to the kitchen.

In the small space, he found a lithe African-American woman he remembered meeting one time before during his visits home, but he couldn’t recall her name. She had her Afro slicked down in the front and trumpeting out the back in a huge puff. Her tight, black dress left nothing to the imagination. The tears in her eyes spoke volumes. She pulled out a tray of sliced ham and placed it on the table.

“You probably don’t remember me.” She grabbed a napkin and wiped under her eyes. “My name is Shay. I worked with your mom, I mean, I work at the hair salon.”

Thane nodded. Now he remembered her. She’d flirted with him when he’d met her the first time. He didn’t mind flirting back. The attractive woman could catch any man’s interest. He didn’t view her as a serious girlfriend. Had he only used her for a good time, his mother would have killed him.

“Thane.” He pointed to himself.

She nodded while her face broke. She raised her arms and enveloped him in them. Her large breasts pressed against his chest as she cried. With each gasping sob, her body trembled.

Thane couldn’t help but hold her. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist.

“She let me live in the apartment over the garage when my boyfriend—” Shay stopped and cried even harder. “She saved me, her and Gunnar.”

Thane released his hold as soon as he heard Gunnar’s name. With his arms by his side, he jiggled his jacket pockets, which clinked the small bottles against each other. Shay pulled back from him and peered down.

“Glad my mother could be there for you.” He moved back from her and returned to the living room, which now had filled up with bodies.

Some people he recognized from his mother’s businesses, like Tillman and Tisha, also from the salon. The rest of the people came from Elizabeth’s side of the family, like her sister, Millie, who looked nothing like Queen.

Whereas Elizabeth carried a statuesque height, Millie stood shorter than height-challenged Victor. Millie’s eyes reminded him of autumn, full of light brown, green, and gray colors, depending on what she wore. Unlike his mother, Millie flaunted a fuller figure.

Thane had no problem hugging his aunt. “Hey, Aunt Millie.”

She squeezed him like she wanted to absorb him into her compact body. Thane took a deep breath. His aunt didn’t even smell like his departed mother. Millie always reminded him of spring and summer. She smelled like fresh-cut grass and honeysuckle.

She pulled back from him. Thane had expected to see tears filling the woman’s eyes. Instead, she looked strong. She kind of reminded Thane of Gunnar, like she had to be the rock.

“Your mother loved all of you boys so much.” Millie’s voice remained steady as she spoke.

“We loved
her
. She will be missed.” Thane’s voice broke, but he took in a deep breath to keep from crying.

“You three are going to have to be like Elizabeth and I were when our parents died.” She rested her hands on his shoulders. “You have each other. Lean on your family.”

Thane put his hand on top of his aunt’s. “If you need anything, you know you can call any of us. You’re family.”

Millie smiled. “I know, baby. But I’m more concerned about you three. I know what a force of nature my sister is…was.” She shook her head like she couldn’t wrap her mind around the concept of Elizabeth being gone. “She saw strength in each of you. You all are going to have to hold each other up for a while. There’s no shame in asking for help.”

Thane didn’t see his situation with his brothers that way. He craned his head back and saw the back door by the kitchen, a way out. “Speaking of help, I think they might need some in the kitchen.” He kissed Millie on her cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, Thane.”

Thane made his way through the throngs of people milling around his mother’s modest home to get to the back door. He bolted through it, needing space and air and a place to think. He paced in the grassy area next to the two-story two-car garage, the place Shay said she now lived.

He pressed his back against the garage wall and pulled his jacket around his body. When he heard the bottles in his pocket clicking against each other again, he wasted no time retrieving one and downing it in a swallow.

Thane grimaced and growled when he realized he’d drunk a bottle of vodka. He shoved the empty bottle into his pocket and pulled out another one. At this point, it didn’t matter what he ingested. He needed the effects of the alcohol to kick in now.

An hour later and several bottles of liquor poured down his throat, Thane achieved what he wanted. He slid down the wall to sit on the cold ground under him. He’d buried his mother today. The thought of that hit him despite being too drunk to stand.

He bowed his head and covered his face with his hands. “It’s not fair.”

“Hey.”

Thane felt a hand on his shoulder. He peered up and saw Gideon standing over him.

“We’ve been looking for you. Why are you out here?” He held his hand out to Thane.

Thane pushed himself up and stumbled as soon as he made it to his feet. Gideon held on to Thane’s arm and helped him get straight.